All Feature articles – Page 78
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FeatureFord optimises aftermarket services in Thailand with Bangna-Trad PDC
Ford has opened a parts distribution centre (PDC) in Bangna-Trad, Thailand, to more effectively support its growing dealer network in the country and also support demand in adjacent export markets.The carmaker has invested 100m baht ($3m) in the centre, which has 26,000 sq.m of storage space and can stock more ...
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FeatureSummit report: Indian industry must turn reforms into progress
Discussions at this year’s Automotive Logistics India Summit in Chennai may have sounded remarkably familiar to those who attended the very first conference a decade earlier: infrastructure deficits, underdeveloped connections, a lack of rail transport options, a fragmented logistics market, a highly bureaucratic and unproductive customs regime, and the proliferation ...
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FeatureDHL secures contract with Ford for prototype parts moves
DHL Supply Chain has won a new contract with Ford for the movement of prototype parts from the carmaker’s suppliers to its research and development locations around the world. The logistics provider said it was now Ford’s global provider of freight management for prototype parts.Neither party would divulge the terms ...
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FeatureIndian state border barriers slowly coming down under GST regime
Flows of goods across India’s state borders seem to be smoothing out slowly as toll barriers are removed, following implementation of the nationwide Goods and Services Tax (GST) several months ago.Speakers at this year’s Automotive Logistics India Summit last week gave examples of how the new federal taxation system, which ...
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FeatureIndian vehicle exports’ share of total production set to fall
Vehicle exports’ share of total production in India is set to decline in coming years as carmakers use their manufacturing capacity to meet local market demand, which is forecast to continue growing at a healthy rate.Puneet Gupta (pictured), associate director for vehicle sales forecast for South Asia at research firm ...
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FeatureIT implementation: Touching the cutting edge
Twenty years ago, parts of today’s automotive supply chain would have seemed like science fiction – plants keeping just a few hours’ worth of highly traceable inventory, unmanned drones being used to monitor site activity, glasses with computer chips in them, self-driving vehicles, and management systems that predict the future, ...
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FeatureBMW tracking: Prevention is better than a cure
Few manufacturing operations have expanded as much over the past two decades as BMW’s Plant Spartanburg in Greer, South Carolina. After producing 411,000 X-series SUV models in 2016, it is now the carmaker’s largest global facility by assembly volume, and is headed towards its maximum capacity of 450,000 units per year, including the launch this year of the new X3.
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FeatureMines of information
Having invested over the past 20 years in data acquisition technology, the automotive industry is now casting around for ways to make sense of that data.
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FeatureGroupe Cat confirms buyout of rival STVA
Finished vehicle logistics provider Groupe Cat has confirmed it will buy rival company STVA from French state-owned rail operator SNCF.The confirmation follows reports in May this year that Groupe Cat was in exclusive negotiations to take over the company, which generated a turnover of over €320m ($370m) last year.Neither company ...
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FeatureTurkey boosts automotive exports by nearly a quarter in first nine months
Turkey has seen a 24% rise in the export of vehicles between January and September this year compared with the same period in 2016, according to recent figures from the Turkish Automotive Manufacturers Association (OSD).The country exported over 984,400 vehicles out of a total production figure of 1.2m during the ...
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FeatureBrunswick increases vehicle handling capacity by 50% in a year
Brunswick port, in the US state of Georgia, has reported an increase in its vehicle handling capacity at the Colonel’s Island terminal of 50% during the last 12 months.According to the Georgia Ports Authority (GPA), the ro-ro terminal has expanded storage from 60,000 spaces in 2016 to 90,000 spaces today, ...
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FeatureDräxlmaier starts operations in the Bay Area to cut transport costs
German tier one interiors supplier Dräxlmaier has opened its second manufacturing facility in the US at Livermore, near San Francisco’s Bay Area, and brought the logistics operations formerly located in nearby Fremont onsite. Production will ramp up over the next few months.Dräxlmaier has invested $24m in the 27,000 sq.m Californian ...
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FeatureGM starts exporting Chevrolet Sail from China to Mexico and Caribbean
GM has started exporting the Chevrolet Sail from its joint venture plant with SAIC in China to Mexico and the Caribbean.The carmaker has confirmed to Automotive Logistics that as of late October, the models being sold in those markets are being built in Yantai, the port city in Shandong, where ...
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FeatureBMW seeks to improve transparency in battery cell supply chain
After participating in the Responsible Cobalt Initiative (RCI) last year, BMW Group has taken further steps to improve transparency in its battery cell supply chain by promising to release information on smelters and countries of origin for raw materials by the end of this year.The carmaker also plans to release ...
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FeatureOne box still does not fit all
A look at automotive packaging developments over the past 20 years
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FeatureMitsubishi becomes latest carmaker to launch online sales platform in the UK
Mitsubishi Motors has become the latest carmaker to let consumers buy its entire range of new vehicles online.The company says its offering differs from others on the market in that it allows buyers to choose how much of the transaction process they would like to complete online and how much ...
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FeatureMore UK and EU businesses looking to move supply chains due to Brexit
The number of supply chain managers looking to localise their respective supply chains because of Brexit has grown, according to the latest survey from the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply (CIPS).Some 63% of EU businesses expect to move their supply chains out of the UK, while 40% of UK ...
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FeatureOEMs join forces to create pan-European fast charging network
Four major carmakers have formed a joint venture to build a network of electric vehicle fast charging stations around Europe.The Ionity joint venture plans to build a total of 400 High-Power-Charging (HPC) stations in the region by 2020. The level of investment has not been disclosed.The four carmakers involved are ...
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FeatureABP opens Pacific Terminal at Southampton as part of major investment
Port operator Associated British Ports (ABP) has officially opened a new vehicle terminal at the port of Southampton in the UK as part of a £50m ($65.6m) investment first announced in September last year.The Pacific Terminal was opened by the minister of state for international trade, Greg Hands (pictured, left, ...
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FeatureThe twilight of global trade?
Globalisation and free trade may be reversing towards regional supply chains for a mix of policy and economic reasons