All Government and policy articles
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FeatureFTA issues trade checklist in response to government statements on independence
In response to the UK government’s latest statements on trading and customs post-Brexit, the Freight Transport Association (FTA) has issued a list of conditions it says are needed to secure continued trade in the UK. James Hookham, the FTA’s deputy chief executiveEarlier this week the government issued a white paper ...
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FeatureRussia to cut subsidies on finished vehicle transport from Far East
A draft decree recently released by the Russian Ministry for Trade and Industry shows that it plans to allocate 850m rubles ($14.3m) this year to subsidise finished vehicle movements from the Far East to the European side of the country.In total, the Russian government plans to reimburse transport costs for ...
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FeatureIndian car carriers protest latest penalty hike in Rajasthan
Car carriers in India are currently staging a protest on the borders of Rajasthan following the local government’s decision to impose a border tariff (or challan) of 5,000 rupees ($75) for equipment travelling through the state.The amount now being asked is a significant hike on the previous fee of 1,500 ...
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FeatureMexico conference report: Seeking to build bridges, not walls
Mexico’s automotive industry is inextricably linked with its neighbours to the north but under its new president the US is talking about renegotiating NAFTA and applying border taxes to imports. At this year’s Automotive Logistics Mexico conference, held in Mexico City, industry and government heads looked for positive signs ...
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FeatureMexico conference: government urges ‘tranquillity’ in Nafta debate
The Mexican government has confirmed that it will seek to maintain the current advantages of the North America Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), including tariff-free trade of automotive parts and vehicles, in upcoming negotiations with the governments of the US and Canada. It will also seek to further reduce regulatory barriers ...
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FeatureBLG develops smart containers for the automobile industry
A project consortium involving Germany’s BLG Logistics has won a technology competition to develop smart containers that can be used to transport automotive parts while digitally recording the quality data of the parts being moved.BLG Logistics is working with tier supplier Bosch along with the Bremen Institute for Production and ...
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FeatureIndia conference report: Looking for the next leap forward
India’s automotive industry is set to become the third biggest in the world but its growth is testing the infrastructure to the limit and bringing a high level of complexity to the supply chain. There are also big changes ahead related to tax policy and equipment legislation, which bring their ...
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FeatureUK government rail freight plan to target automotive sector
The UK government’s Department for Transport (DfT) has outlined a new rail freight strategy aiming in part to target the long-term growth potential of industry sectors that are currently underdeveloped and subject to network constraints – including automotive.The DfT’s rail freight strategy is part of an overall government commitment to ...
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FeatureIndian carriers fight penalties and OEM indifference
Vipul Nanda, president of India's Car Carriers AssociationJust when you thought the question of car transporter lengths in India was sorted out, it may be time to think again.Following its draft legislation providing for a maximum length for finished vehicle carriers of 18.75 metres earlier this year, India’s Ministry ...
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FeatureLack of federal funds is leaving ro-ro ports high and dry
With new vehicle sales and production in North America still running at record levels, the region’s vehicle-handling ports are running out of room. Larger vessels, sometimes arriving in bunches, are putting more pressure on terminals and yard space. Land for expansion, meanwhile, is hotly contested because port authorities have competing ...
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FeatureNissan says UK investment plans depend on Brexit deal
Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, has said the company's future investment plans in the UK are on hold and will depend on the outcome of discussions between the UK and the European Union on how they will continue to trade in the wake of June's Brexit result. Those discussions are unlikely ...
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FeatureAutomotive cartels: the inside story
In July, a group of four truck manufacturers were hit with the highest ever cartel fine by the European Commission for fixing prices and colluding over the implementation of new emissions standards.Over a 14-year period, from 1997 to 2011, Volvo Trucks, Daimler, Paccar’s DAF and CNH Industrial’s Iveco conspired with ...
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FeatureIndia passes long-awaited goods and services tax bill
The lower house of the Indian parliament has approved the bill required to bring in India's Goods and Services Tax (GST), which has the potential to transform the country’s domestic logistics and make it easier for manufacturers to move freight across internal state borders. It is expected to be ratified ...
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FeatureOntario and Michigan working together to support auto industry
The Canadian province of Ontario and its US neighbour Michigan have signed an agreement to promote regional competitiveness and innovation in the automotive industry through greater collaboration. The deal includes the provision to increase supply chain integration and transfer technology through business-to-business partnerships.Ontario and Michigan account for more than 26% ...
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ECG column: Evolution, not revolution
Newly elected ECG president Wolfgang Göbel believes the industry’s mood of optimism in Europe is the perfect backdrop against which to make progress during his tenureIn this, my first article since being elected president of ECG at the 2016 General Assembly in May, I would like to take the opportunity ...
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ABP boss calls for 'bold' ports policy after Brexit vote
The UK government needs to respond with a “bold, ambitious and visionary” ports policy in the wake of the country’s vote to leave the European Union (EU), the nation’s biggest port operator has warned.Speaking to members of Parliament last week, ABP chief executive James Cooper said the government must now ...
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FeatureRussian car exports to Ukraine pick up
Despite continuing geopolitical tensions between the two countries, car exports from Russia to Ukraine have shown signs of improvement for the first time in three years, according to the latest statistics from the Association of Ukrainian Motor Vehicles Manufacturers (UkrAutoprom).Russian vehicle exports to Ukraine fell 57% last year compared to ...
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Russia conference: The long road to recovery
For the past several years, Russia’s economy and automotive industry have been facing a 'perfect storm'. Practically everything that could happen to hurt the sector and its consumers has done so, whether it be the decrease in energy prices (upon which the Russian economy is highly dependent), a significant currency ...
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Faltering government exacerbates uncertainty in UK auto industry
[Updated July 5th] The UK government is dithering in the political direction it will take following last week’s controversial vote to leave the European Union. That dithering is doing nothing to alleviate the uncertainty that has spread across the country’s automotive sector, from the OEMs and suppliers to the transport ...
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FeatureBrexit shockwaves go through the supply chain
For the automotive logistics sector, there was a cruel but telling irony in where the strength of the British vote to leave the EU on June 23rd first emerged. Around midnight, in one of the first areas to announce its results, the north-east city of Sunderland revealed that 61% of ...