News – Page 329
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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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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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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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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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FeatureThe business case for premium freight in the routine supply chain.
For many years, the automotive industry has set the standard in lean supply chains. The motivator for this level of efficiency is necessity; automotive manufacturers are in a challenging position, producing a highly advanced product at a low cost considering the technology content. Car prices have not increased in real ...
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FeatureCar carriers unfazed by Greek strikes
Dockworkers at Greece’s main ports of Thessaloniki and Piraeus have joined air traffic controllers, rail workers, hauliers and seafarers in a 48-hour general strike this week. The protest, against the government’s handling of the economic crisis affecting the country, is the fourth strike to have hit the country this year ...
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FeatureCalifornia extends clean-fuel zone
California is to extend the reach of its 24-nautical mile clean-fuel shipping zone to include offshore islands following complaints from the US Navy that more than half the cargo vessels serving the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach having been using the Point Mugu Sea Range-a restricted area off ...
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FeatureToyota begins Avensis exports from UK
Toyota will export the Avensis from its UK manufacturing plant in Burnaston, Derbyshire to Japan from July this year. The vehicles, which will be carried to the port of Southampton by STVA will be loaded onto NYK vessels for shipment to Nagoya in Japan at a rate of 750 per ...
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FeatureExecutives on the move
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) has announced two appointments to its global executive management team. Christopher J. Connor has been named chief commercial officer for the company’s global organization and will assume the CCO role while continuing as deputy CEO of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics AS. Connor will work closely with Oslo-based ...
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FeaturePSA makes first exports from China JV
PSA Peugeot-Citroën’s joint venture with Dongfeng Motor has shipped its first exports from China with the movement of Peugeot 408 models to Egypt. The move follows and agreement signed in September 2010 between the two companies establishing rights for PSA to use China produced vehicles for export to overseas markets. ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
Cat Logistics expands US distribution with Spokane centreCaterpillar Logistics Services will begin construction this summer on a new US parts distribution centre in Spokane, Washington, which is expected to be completed next year and will replace the company’s existing 11,600m2 facility. The new facility is part of the Caterpillar subsidiary’s ...
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FeatureToyota reveals Russia import plans
Toyota is revamping its import strategy for finished vehicles into the Russian market, including plans to scrap use of offshore ports in Finland and elsewhere in Europe, explore the use of new entry points in the Black Sea and the Far East, as well as increase onward rail distribution in ...
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FeatureNYK and Yusen grow business in China, UK
NYK has established a new subsidiary to strengthen its finished vehicle logistics business in China where new car sales exceeded 18m units last year. NYK Automotive Logistics China (NALC) will maximize the use of NYK’s existing service network for vehicle distribution throughout the country and will centralise customer service desks. ...
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FeatureIndustry mourns passing of 'a true gentleman'
It was with great sadness that Automotive Logistics learned of the death last weekend of Heinrich-Wilhelm Averwerser, managing director at BLG Automobile Logistics. Mr Averwerser was 39 and passed away after a short but very serious illness. “We are missing a competent and engaged, as well as an always-reliable and ...
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FeatureFaster recovery forecast at Renesas
The world’s biggest producer of micro-controllers, Renesas Electronics, which was hit by the Japanese earthquake in March, has said it will restore full output by the end of September, a month prior to its previous estimate. The announcement is welcome news for Japanese automakers and the wider automotive industry, which ...
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FeatureDebate on distribution to resume in Paris
Is vehicle distribution a commodity–albeit a quality commodity–to be bought on price? Or is the outbound supply chain a key contributor to customer satisfaction, which creates brand loyalty among car consumers? Speakers including Toyota Europe’s Levent Yuksel, Fiat’s Paola Petrone and Daimler’s Egon Christ will address this key strategic issue ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
Myla Motors will start production in Russia with lean logistics strategyThe Russian market will see the introduction of an entirely new car brand at the end of this year from a new plant opening in Tartarstan. Myla Motors, founded in 2005 by John Mylonas (pictured), a former General Motors executive, ...
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Gefco gets EC grant for PSA rail link
Gefco’s rail service for Peugeot Citroën, which is moving semi-knockdown kits (SKDs) from the carmaker’s Vesoul plant in France, on route to the new €470m ($630m) production facility the French carmaker has set up with Mitsubishi in Kaluga, Russia has gained the support of the European Commission’s Marco Polo programme. ...
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FeatureSsangyong targets China for exports
South Korean carmaker Ssangyong Motor has said it will begin exports to China again in August this year and has an annual target of between 30,000 and 50,000 vehicles by 2013. The company said it intends to become the number one imported brand in China’s SUV market and has signed ...
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FeatureGAZ to assemble VW-Skoda in Russia
Volkswagen has signed an agreement with Russia’s GAZ Group to assemble VW and Skoda models under contract at the latter’s plant in Nizhny Novgorod. Planned production output is 110,000 vehicles per year, starting with the Skoda Yeti model, which will be assembled from semi-knockdown (SKD) kits shipped from the Kvasiny ...