All Ford articles – Page 2
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FeatureFinally, a done deal?
The sigh of relief from the automotive sector at the announcement of a breakthrough in negotiations over the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) with Mexico in August was almost palpable. The news at the end of September that a similar, last-minute deal had also been struck with Canada must ...
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FeatureFord cancels Focus imports to US from China
Ford has scrapped plans to export the Focus Active model from China to the US because of tariffs of 25% being imposed by the US government. Exports from China were due to begin next year following plans first announced in 2017, when the carmaker decided to supply the car from ...
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FeatureUS announces tentative deal with Mexico
Following a year of renegotiations over the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), the US administration has this week outlined the basics of a new bilateral agreement with Mexico on trade in agriculture and manufactured goods, including finished vehicles and automotive parts.The move follows President Trump’s rejection of the existing ...
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FeatureManta reports huge increase in vehicle traffic
The port of Manta, in northern Ecuador, has reported a doubling in the volume of finished vehicles it handled over the first seven months of this year to 42,056 units, compared to 20,691 units in the same period last year.Roberto Salazar, president of Manta Port Terminals (TPM) – the private ...
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FeatureStandoff between the US and Turkey raises questions for OEMs
The collapse in the value of the Turkish lira and the political stand-off between Turkey and the US have some potentially serious consequences for the continued growth of the automotive sector in the country.Car and light van production in Turkey has grown steadily in recent years, to around 1.4-1.5m vehicles ...
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FeatureFord uses motion tracking to improve workstations
Ford is using motion tracking technology on workers at its Almussafes plant, in Spain, to help it design less physically stressful workstations on the production line. The OEM said the goal was to reduce worker injuries while making the workstations more efficient and improving manufacturing quality.In a pilot project, workers ...
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FeatureVehicle makers grapple with cost of trade wars
Carmakers are faced with shifting production, higher purchase costs, lower profits and the possibility of raising the price of their products as a consequence of the continuing global trade conflict.Volvo Cars of Sweden is shifting production of its XC60 SUV for the US market from China to Europe to avoid ...
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FeatureA rising tide – with political undercurrents
Mexican production and exports continued to grow through 2017, both to the US and globally. At the same time, US sales remained strong and were fed by an increase in imports from established and emerging markets. It is only in Canada that both sales and assembly are showing a decline. ...
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FeatureSeeking to harmonise supply and demand
In May, supply chain specialist Kinaxis announced that Volvo Cars had chosen its software for work on volume forecasting and production planning. According to Kinaxis, the Swedish carmaker will use its RapidResponse software to model the impact of rising production volumes, as well as other ‘what-if?’ scenarios. Accurate forecasting will ...
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FeatureWhen will services be back on track?
The state of the rail freight service in the US has been a leading topic of conversation for several months within vehicle supply chains, with discussions still ongoing between OEMs and rail providers. Questions around the availability of capacity and transit delays that have disrupted the timing of finished vehicle ...
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FeatureAfrica awakes
Africa’s vehicle production and distribution sector still trails much of the rest of the world, but the signs are that this is beginning to change
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FeatureTrump’s tariffs attract worldwide disapproval
Carmakers, parts manufacturers, trade bodies and the European Union have all sharply criticised the Trump administration’s proposed import tariffs on vehicles and auto parts.Hinting at potential supply chain disruption, Toyota said: “There is no vehicle [made] in the United States … that is sole-sourced from exclusively US parts and components.”The ...
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FeatureBrexit’s unaccustomed burdens
Nine months before the UK’s planned departure from the European Union, uncertainty over customs arrangements is emerging as one of the major concerns of manufacturers – perhaps just as much, if not more so, than the prospect of tariffs and taxes. The risks and impacts from delays in logistics flows ...
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FeatureFord to close French transmission plant
Ford has announced it will sell off its automatic transmission plant in France – Ford Aquitaine Industries (FAI) – in the face of a declining requirement for small automatic transmissions in Europe.According to the company, the plant has been underutilised for a number of years, no new products are planned ...
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FeatureInbound supply chains subject to growing disruption
Interruptions to the smooth flow of parts to assembly plants are becoming more commonplace, according to research from global insurance broker JLT Specialty.Recorded incidents last year – typically factory fires, hurricanes and labour strikes – increased by more than 30% compared with 2016 to reach 1,699 , affecting 5,585 suppliers ...
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FeatureAutomotive in the firing line as Trump extends tariffs
Cars and automotive parts are becoming enmeshed in intensifying global trade wars, with the automotive sector facing increased shipping, supply, manufacturing and cost uncertainty for some time to come.The catalyst has been the US president imposing import tariffs of 25% on steel and 10% on aluminium, two key input materials ...
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FeatureFCA vehicles damaged by fire in Ohio
At least 20 new Jeep Wranglers have been damaged or destroyed in a fire at a storage lot in Toledo, Ohio. So far, the cause of the fire, which took place on Monday (May 21), remains unclear, though a report by local news source WTOL11 said fire investigators were treating ...
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FeatureFord restarts production after Meridian fire
Ford has resumed production of the F-150 and Super Duty pick-up trucks at its facilities in the US, following inbound supply chain disruption caused by a fire at its components supplier Meridian Magnesium Products earlier this month.The fire, which was followed by a number of explosions, took place at the ...
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FeatureSweet home Alabama
One of the most popular songs about the US state of Alabama, ‘Sweet Home Alabama’, opens with the line “Big wheels keep on turning” – and indeed the number doing so is set to grow after the January announcement that a $1.6 billion Toyota-Mazda joint-venture manufacturing plant is scheduled to ...
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FeatureCarmakers still dealing with fallout from Meridian fire
Carmakers in North America are still being affected by inbound supply problems stemming from a fire that hit the Michigan facility run by a division of components supplier Meridian Lightweight Technologies at the beginning of May. The Magnesium Products of America plant makes instrument panel components.Ford’s output of the F-150 ...