South America
Motoring on: Brazil's heavyweight manufacturers prepare for growth
Brazilian truck and bus sales picked up strongly last year following the country’s long recession, and now both OEMs and logistics providers are hoping the trend continues
A transformation for China's automotive landscape
Carmakers, logistics providers and tier suppliers joined the heads of China’s leading trade associations in Shanghai this year to assess the sweeping changes taking place in the country’s automotive market. As regulators seek to support business during the slowdown, trade upheaval continues but so does the growth in digitalisation and ...
Honda starts production at Itirapina plant in Brazil
Japanese carmaker Honda has begun operations at its Itirapina assembly plant, in the Brazilian state of São Paulo.
The long way home
For inbound automotive supply chains, returnable packaging just makes sense. No carmaker wants to spend money on wood, paper and cardboard again and again, only to have to fork out straight away for costly waste disposal. Far better to pay once for a robust, reusable container that provides better protection ...
GM withdraws from JV with Uzbek government
General Motors has sold off its remaining stake in the GM Uzbekistan joint venture to state-owned company Uzavtosanoat, which held the majority stake in the company. GM Uzbekistan makes Ravon and Chevrolet vehicles at its plant in Asaka.
Q&A: Neuton Karassawa
Can you give an overview of GM’s logistics activities in Brazil, and your own responsibilities?The scope of my function in the region is to handle the inbound pieces and materials, such as local inbound flows from overseas to South America. I [also] manage outbound flows from the factories to customers ...
JLR commits to UK supplier base for Evoque
Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has used the launch of its new Range Rover Evoque SUV to confirm its commitment to the supplier base in the UK by awarding more than £4 billion ($5.1 billion) in contracts to support production of the model.
Shifting gear
Brazilian vehicle sales have been gathering pace recently, as the country tentatively recovers from its long recession. Light vehicle sales have shown some growth, while bus and truck sales have positively motored ahead. Vehicle sales this year, however, have been tarnished somewhat by stalling exports – especially to Argentina, which ...
Brazil introduces new auto incentive programme
Brazil’s government has recently voted to implement Rota (Route) 2030, a new tax incentive programme for the Brazilian automotive sector that replaces the Inovar-Auto programme, which expired in 2017.
Economic nationalism to force a lane-change
Typically, the world experiences waves of economic nationalism every three decades but these are often limited to one region each time. Today we’re experiencing a global wave of economic disruption across multiple regions simultaneously. In reaction, automotive manufacturers are having to increase the flexibility and agility of their supply chains ...
Bigger vehicles, bigger challenges
Last year, GM sold around 3m vehicles in the US, with roughly 775,000 imported from Canada and Mexico and the rest coming from around the world, mainly from South Korea, China and Europe. Combining deep-sea and short-sea volumes, the carmaker used seaports to receive close to 200,000 vehicles into the ...
Favouring freight rate recovery over fleet expansion
Following a four-year splurge in newbuilding contracting that culminated in more than 300,000 Car Equivalent Units (CEU) being ordered in 2015 alone, less than 20,000 CEU were ordered during 2016 and 2017.
Deficit in Brazil’s automotive parts sector worsens
Brazil’s automotive parts industry posted a trade deficit of $4.48 billion over the first eight months of this year – a 22.4% increase compared to the deficit over the same period last year.
Brazilian auto association adjusts forecast
Brazil’s National Association of Automotive Vehicle Manufacturers (Anfavea), has adjusted predictions for how the year will end for the finished vehicle sector in the country – upwards for domestic registrations and production, downwards for exports.
GM Uzbekistan streamlines its supply chain
GM’s joint venture with the government of Uzbekistan – GM Uzbekistan – is expected to make 220,000 vehicles this year, a 37% increase compared to 2017.
Blockchain can disrupt the auto industry
Blockchain has built its reputation as a distributed ledger platform, which provides a framework for securely using and trading cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. However, its potential extends far beyond financial services.
VW Brazil launches logistics portal
Volkswagen Truck & Bus is to launch a digital logistics portal in Brazil in tandem with the group’s digital brand, Rio.
Toyota runs roadtrains to Buenos Aires port
The port of Buenos Aires in Argentina has received its first ever roadtrain delivery of containers from the Toyota plant at Zárate.
Don't hope for a trade war truce
This is just the beginning. Unless an agreement can be reached, the ongoing trade war is likely to incur additional tariffs on Chinese products, and businesses at the lower end of the supply chain will face serious consequences.
Kuehne + Nagel builds in blockchain
Logistics provider Kuehne + Nagel is applying blockchain technology to upgrade its existing Verified Gross Mass (VGM) portal. VGM is the weight of cargo, including the dunnage, bracing and tare weight of the container.
