All Feature articles – Page 323

  • Feature

    No reason to cancel Nano orders

    2010-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Cancellations by Tata Nano customers in India frustrated by the delay in delivery of the car are above 15% of total buyers, according to reports in the Indian press. But the frustration may be less the result of a logistics problem and more to do with customer perceptions given the ...

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    Germany ranks no.1 for logistics

    2010-01-20T00:00:00Z

    Germany topped the rankings of 155 countries rated in the World Bank’s ‘Logistics Performance Index’ (LPI), a report published this week based on more than 5,000 individual country assessments made by around 1,000 international freight forwarders. (Read the full report here info.worldbank.org/etools/tradesurvey/Mode1a.asp) The report highlights a range of categories of ...

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    UK weather puts logistics on ice

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    As Antarctic temperatures hit the UK last week, with snow and ice bringing many parts of the country to a standstill, automotive logistics companies have been forced to implement a number of measures to protect vehicles, find alternative routes and ensure the safety of drivers and staff. It is the ...

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    Executives on the move

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    Following last week’s announcement that the ECG’s executive director Mark Morgan is leaving his position there at the end of March, this week it has been confirmed that he will join Pound Gates in the newly-created post of commercial director. Pound Gates, which is based in the UK with offices ...

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    GM signs specialised and inbound contracts

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    General Motors has signed two new contracts with logistics service providers in North America for finished vehicle and inbound parts movements. The first, with specialist vehicle carrier Select 1 Transport, will see the LSP handle all specialised movements throughout GM’s North American testing facilities in Michigan, Arizona, and Colorado. The ...

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    Mercedes opens Brunswick VPC

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    Monday saw the arrival of 16,000 Mercedes-Benz vehicles at the US Port of Brunswick, marking the first delivery to the carmaker’s new $17.5m vehicle processing centre (VPC) at the Colonel’s Island terminal. The 6,500m2 facility is the second VPC to be established on the south side of terminal, the other ...

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    Starco gets Agility for Asia parts imports to Europe

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    European tyre, wheel and axle supplier, Starco Group, has signed a new contract with supply chain solutions provider Agility for procurement logistics between Asia and Europe. In the first stage of the operation Agility will handle the shipping of 8,000 TEUs of parts, including tyres, tubes, wheel rims, complete wheels ...

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    Eukor and Hoegh announce additional services

    2010-01-13T00:00:00Z

    The new year has begun with new service announcements from two of the world’s leading finished vehicle forwarders. Eukor Car Carriers has launched a new fixed weekly service from Europe to China, loading from ports at Wallhamn (Sweden), Bremerhaven (Germany), Antwerp (Belgium) and Southampton (UK), to Shanghai, Xingang and Huangpu ...

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    Feature

    Executives on the move

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    The Association of European Vehicle Logistics (ECG) is looking for a new executive director with the announcement this week that Mark Morgan (pictured) will be leaving the association at the end of March. Morgan, who has been in the position since August 2006, is returning to the UK for family ...

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    End of the dynamic DUO

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    Volkswagen’s Japanese division – Volkswagen Group Japan (VGJ) – is terminating the contract it signed in 1991 with Toyota Motor Corp. (TMC) for the distribution of VW vehicles in Japan. From the end of 2010 Volkswagen dealers currently under the Toyota distributorship (called DUO) will move to a new direct ...

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    NYK merges logistics divisions

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    In his New Year’s Speech to the company on Monday, NYK’s president Yasumi Kudo said that the company needed to merge its contract logistics business, NYK Logistics, with its airfreight forwarding business, Yusen Air & Sea Service, “to establish a structure capable of fully serving all logistics needs of customers”. ...

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    Chrysler signs contracts with NAPA and WWL

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    US carmaker Chrysler is boosting export activity from North America with two new shipping contracts serving Europe, Asia, Australia and the Pacific Rim. The company has signed a contract with the North America Pacific Asia (NAPA) service jointly operated by Norway’s Partner Shipping and Australia’s Praxis Logistics. This month it ...

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    Pirates seize Hyundai car carrier

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    Somali pirates are thought to be behind the hijacking of a car carrier transporting 2,300 Hyundai and Kia vehicles between Singapore and Saudi Arabia while travelling through the India Ocean roughly 600 miles east of Somalia. The pirates used a previously hijacked Pakistan-flagged fishing vessel – the Shazaib – to ...

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    Mitsubishi extends Europe distribution with BLG

    2010-01-06T00:00:00Z

    BLG has extended its contract with Mitsubishi Europe for the distribution of all vehicles from the carmaker’s Nedland plant in Born, the Netherlands, to dealerships throughout Germany and in Norway. The contract has intially been signed up to 2012 and BLG is now Mitsubishi’s sole partner with responsibility for the ...

  • Feature

    Make way for the little guys

    2010-01-02T15:59:57Z

    Good time for a Plan CA market splintering rather than consolidatingThe US car carrier sector is in transition, and while many companies are disappearing, carmakers and 3PLs are giving more business to smaller, niche players for certain routes, reports Barry CrossThe US automotive outbound sector has seen chronic failures among ...

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    Grooming the yard

    2010-01-02T15:59:44Z

    Specialised software on the riseTagging to trackIncreasing productivityThe road aheadIT systems, whether hardware or software, are beginning to be more sophisticated for managing flows in and out of vehicle yards. Jim Romeo reportsWhile the automotive inbound and outbound supply chain has become more complex, the IT systems used to track ...

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    European car ports are waiting on an Asian dream

    2010-01-02T15:54:54Z

    China’s big paper plansAssessing the European landing pointKia went to a smaller port, and so could othersChina and India have raced ahead in domestic car sales, but logistics providers and port operators in Europe are wondering when, and if, they will arrive on local shores in any substantial way. Malcolm ...

  • Feature

    Handling cars with a little less human touch

    2010-01-02T15:50:01Z

    Chock full of vehicle sizesProtect only where it countsDesign the terminal rightLooking to Asia as a guideA group effortSixthSeventhEighthWhile OEMs spend significant amounts of money on protective products, the most important measure that can be taken is training staff and developing careful processes for handling and inspecting vehicles. Carmakers and ...

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    Can one size ever fit all?

    2010-01-02T15:45:39Z

    Flexible and adjustable equipment stands outDesigning the perfect car carrierA divided EuropeWhat to tell your carriersCarmakers are gravitating towards similar standards and technology for road carriers, but the recession has made investment tougher than ever. Carrier builders and customers speak about how much cutting-edge technology and processes countThe purchase of ...

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    Designing a group logistics strategy for SAIC

    2010-01-02T14:24:47Z

    A family of logistical differencesLooking abroad, cautiouslyGetting stronger at homeA tale of two AnjisThe sprawling Chinese conglomerate is growing quickly across its indigenous brands and joint venture operations, which include truckmaker subsidiaries and an in-house logistics company, Anji Automotive Logistics. Namrita Chow takes a look inside the group to see ...