All Europe articles – Page 124
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FeatureA more Russian logistics network
Russia’s new automotive boom is served by a decidedly different network than in 2008, with more local production, increasing use of domestic ports, and growing sales beyond St Petersburg and Moscow. Anthony Coia reports.With 2012 new vehicle sales likely to finish 7-10% higher than 2011 – at around 3m units ...
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FeatureBenteler gets global visibility
While visibility in the supply chain is a goal for all logistics managers, for many at automotive tier suppliers it is often more of a mantra than an existing management tool – repeat it enough, and hopefully its meaning will seep through to operational reality.That is because many suppliers lack ...
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FeatureCounterfeit parts are costing the industry billions
There is evidence of (un)healthy growth in the global trade of counterfeit parts and vehicles, which not only carries risks to the safety of the end-user, but also to the brand reputations of carmakers. Some important discoveries of such parts have been found during customs crackdowns at major logistics centres.A ...
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FeatureVW’s European exports to China will still grow
Volkswagen appears to be looking at exports to China as one option of maintaining plant output in Europe and minimising the risk of inventory build-up. According to its CEO, Martin Winterkorn, speaking from Sao Paolo in Brazil last November, the company could soon be exporting around 200,000 cars, including Audi ...
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FeatureEurope short sea funding could sink or swim
European Union member states are currently debating a funding proposal from the European Commission under the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) that could deliver €31.7 billion ($41 billion) to improve transport infrastructure across the region. That sum is part of a bigger CEF figure of €50 billion that must also cover ...
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FeatureRo-ro carriers keep on rolling on
Ro-ro carriers have been able to manage capacity and market swings better than many, but shifting vehicle flows, fuel cost rises and a volatile market may make the coming years the hardest yet to balance, reports Jonathan Ward. The global ro-ro and pure car and truck carrier (PCTC) market ...
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FeatureEditor's Note: Supply chains and purchasing
About five years ago, OEM executives described buying components in places like Southeast Asia as ‘low-cost country’ sourcing. A few years later, they started calling it the more cheerful ‘best-cost country’ sourcing. I always thought of this change as a PR cleanse – an obfuscation of the short and clear ...
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FeatureEDITOR’S NOTE: Lack of innovation in vehicle logistics
Lack of innovation in logistics, especially vehicle logistics, is an old complaint. One OEM executive told me that if you Google his name, you’ll find a quote from 2003 – probably from one of our conferences – in which he decried the lack of such progress. His opinion hasn’t changed ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
Schenker opens UK centre for contract logisticsDB Schenker Logistics’ UK division, Schenker Limited, has opened a new shared user facility in the UK Midlands dedicated to contract logistics. The 5,200-square-metre Shared Logistics Centre, which is located at junction 10 of the M42 near Tamworth, will provide services to multiple ...
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FeatureExecutives on the move
Following the departure of Bob Socia as vice president, Global Purchasing and Supply Chain (read more here), General Motors has named Grace Lieblein (pictured) as his successor, responsible for its purchasing activities and supply chain and logistics operations worldwide. “Grace’s track record is a diverse and very successful one ...
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FeatureTesla moves to Tilburg for distribution
Premium electric carmaker Tesla Motors has announced it will begin distribution of its Model S sedan from its new 6,000-square-metre European distribution centre at Tilburg in The Netherlands. It is the first time the vehicle has been distributed outside of the US since it was introduced last June ...
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FeatureHonda exports one millionth car from US
Honda has exported its one millionth car from the United States, 25 years after exports from the country began. The milestone vehicle was a silver Accord EX-L Sedan and was loaded on a Höegh car carrier at port Hueneme in California bound for Seoul in South Korea. The vehicle ...
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FeatureVW announces facilities in Russia
Volkswagen is building a new €250m ($332m) engine plant in Kaluga to supply its vehicle assembly plant there as well as for supply to contract production of VW vehicles at the GAZ plant in Nizhny Novgorod. The carmaker has also signed a letter of intent for a new logistics ...
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FeatureWork together through the uncertainty
Last week’s Automotive Logistics India conference in Pune revealed that carmakers were willing to work together to make the best of a situation where market volatility, inching regulatory change and huge gaps in infrastructure continued to make things difficult for the automotive industry there to compete globally.Prem Verma, chief ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
GM to stop assembly at BochumGeneral Motor’s European division Opel has confirmed it will close its Bochum plant in Germany in 2016. The announcement follows one in June when the carmaker said it would not be producing a successor for the current Zafira at the plant because of shrinking ...
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FeatureSchenker doubles BMW export centre
DB Schenker Logistics is doubling the size of its Leipzig logistics centre to meet demand for BMW assembly in China and South Africa. The $33m facility began making regular shipments of complete knockdown (CKD) kits of the 3 and 5 Series by rail to Shenyang in December ...
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FeatureMajor Audi CKD hub for Asia exports
Audi is having a 46,000-square metre logistics facility built for it at the Logport II complex at Duisburg port in Germany for the export of complete knockdown (CKD) kits to China and India. Duisburg is an inland waterways port situated on the river Rhine near Essen.The facility, which is ...
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FeatureInquiry begins into sinking of Baltic Ace
Last week’s sinking of the car carrier Baltic Ace following a fatal collision with the container ship Corvus J in the North Sea has resulted in the confirmed deaths of five crewmen with a further six crew members unaccounted for but presumed dead with no further searches planned. The ...
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FeatureGlobal round up
Qingdao port to import vehicles from 2013China's State Council has recently said the port of Qingdao in eastern Shadong province will begin functioning as a major car import terminal in 2013. It will be the only such facility in Shandong province to do so. A ro-ro terminal and auxiliary ...
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FeatureGefco improves PSA exports to South America
Gefco is moving automotive parts to PSA Peugeot-Citroën facilities in Brazil and Argentina from suppliers in Europe thanks to a relocation to a new warehouse in Trnava, Slovakia. Since September the company has been managing an international logistics platform in Trnava, near Bratislava, where parts are delivered from suppliers ...