All Feature articles – Page 297
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FeatureTata embarks on cross-segment strategy
Tata Motors is embarking on a new strategy to overcome distribution restraints across its passenger and commercial vehicles segments in India. The company plans to use its truck network to stock and sell passenger cars in locations that do not currently have passenger car dealerships. At the same time it ...
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FeatureHonda renews inbound contract with Ceva
Honda of the UK Manufacturing has renewed its contract for inbound parts supply from Europe with Ceva Logistics for a further three years from 2012. Ceva Ground Europe, based in Antwerp, Belgium, will continue to manage Honda’s European inbound logistics operations, handling the collection of parts from suppliers in over ...
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FeatureGefco to begin operations in Bulgaria
The logistics subsidiary of PSA Peugeot Citroën, Gefco, will begin automotive logistics operations in Bulgaria from this September and establish relations with current and prospective suppliers as well as small- and medium-size transport firms in the country. Gefco Bulgaria will be based in the capital Sophia and will be headed ...
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FeatureDelivery shortages prompt Audi US plans
Reducing delivery times to the US that are currently too high is one of the reasons behind Audi’s plans to build an assembly plant in North America. The company is also considering the addition of an engine and transmission plant in the country, which could be shared with VW, to ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
Renault investment in Cergy-PontoiseRenault is celebrating the 30th anniversary of its Cergy-Pontoise spare parts warehouse with a €2.5m refit to its workshops that it said will improve ergonomics through better organisation. The improvements to the 92,000m2 facility include the introduction of a system that will enable operators to move both ...
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FeatureConcerns persist over EU trade deal with Korea
Last Friday saw the ratification of the of the much-disputed free trade agreement between the European Union (EU) and South Korea, described by the EU’s ambassador in Seoul, Tomasz Kozlowski, at the time as a “win-win” agreement and a model for other trade agreements that the EU is negotiating, including ...
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FeatureFord completes upgrade for Ranger exports
Ford has completed a two-year, $500m upgrade to its manufacturing and assembly plants in South Africa to enable it to produce and export its new Ranger diesel pickup trucks to 148 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia. Ford's Struandale engine plant in Port Elizabeth engine has been extensively upgraded and ...
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FeatureLSPs collaborate on Le Havre growth project
Further details of the Ro-Ro Max project underway at the French port of Le Havre reveal that logistics providers, including Gefco, Groupe CAT, Wilhelmsen Ships Service and Walon France, are working with technical committees to improve the storage surface and management of vehicle flows through the port. The project, which ...
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FeatureGAZ president calls for discipline in Russia
Logistics, customs clearance and Russian industrial policy will play critical roles in the on-going modernisation and success of Russia’s GAZ Group in the coming years, according to its president, Bo Andersson, the former global purchasing and supply chain chief for General Motors. Speaking to Automotive Logistics during the Automotive News ...
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FeatureDHL to distribute Renault's lithium-ion batteries
DHL has signed an exclusive, three-year contract with Renault to handle the distribution of replacement lithium-ion batteries in Europe. The service, which begins September 1st to coincide with the rollout of Renault’s electric vehicle range, will see DHL carry out logistics, including the storage and transport of batteries between a ...
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FeatureTurning the corner
Key trendsLogistics challengesIn a big countryBuilding on core strengthsConfidence is returning to the automotive industry in Australia after a period of slump but challenges such as infrastructure investment and supply chain flexibility need to be met, writes Andrew Williams.In the wake of the global financial crisis, the Australian automotive industry ...
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FeatureNeapolitan strength from Grimaldi
Automotive backboneNaples leads the growthScrap the old, in with the newProtecting profitsGrimaldi is having a record year, and Christopher Ludwig shows that the Naples-based company’s success is thanks to its strategies for automotive, investment and diversification.Relative to its general business strategy, 2011 should have been a catastrophe so far for ...
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FeatureEurope divided over rail cargoes
To Russia and beyondDistance myth dispelledWhat future for co-loading?...while closed wagons remain too expensiveSpeed of responseThe integration of European rail freight and cross-border standardisation remains a distant dream. Countries have differing state and private provision, with consequences for logistics companies, writes Barry Cross.The European Union has long had ambitions to ...
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FeatureChanges from coast to coast
The rise of exports and the spectre of JapanIncreasing competition on the East CoastNew players on the West CoastRichmond on the rise againWho will emerge next?As imports recover and exports grow through North American ports, a complex mix of factors from currency appreciation to the Japanese earthquake is forcing change ...
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FeatureScratching the surface of damage protection
Types of damage Damage limitationHandle with careNew innovation gaining tractionThe long journeys experienced by finished vehicles require a co-ordinated approach to improving handling and prevent the risks of damage in transit, writes Andrew Williams.By the time new cars roll off production lines they will have undergone a series of strict ...
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FeatureServing the next new car boom in Russia
Carriers neededMoving to railDoubts remainCustoms woesGoing domesticThe Russian car market is emerging from the economic downturn and, despite familiar obstacles to be faced, prospects are bright, writes William Ross.It has certainly been a roller-coaster ride in the Russian auto market over the past five years. After a dramatic, rapid rise ...
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FeatureHeavy growth in Brazil
Marcopolo discovers new territoriesAgco harvests logistics savingsConstructive logisticsBrazil’s boom has been driving a wave of investment in the construction and farming industries, through to tourism and retail. Tony Danby looks at how economic growth, the upcoming World Cup and expanding agricultural markets are spurring heavy machinery sales and the challenges ...
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Feature
…tracking every car
In the vehicle logistics industry, perhaps the most common IT-related complaint from OEMs is that Amazon customers can trace $15 book purchases online up to delivery, but carmakers cannot track $30,000 vehicles. Track-and-trace systems have become the norm in almost every logistics-based industry.FMCG customers expect product deliveries within a 15-minute ...
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The inefficiency of the false monthly peak
The volatility of volumes in the vehicle logistics sector causes huge dilemmas for providers. LSPs plan capacities with a degree of flexibility built in, but artificial peaks at the end of the month are creating more flagrant variations between forecasted volumes and the actual capacity that the industry can afford ...
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FeaturePalletisation grows in India
The use of pallets in the Indian automotive sector is patchy and influenced by a lack of infrastructure but there are signs that palletisation is about to be embraced.Low take-up of pallestisation;Need for infrastructure improvement;Stabilisation of sizes;Who will be the first to jump?;Parameters for pallet standards.Seldom in the history of ...