All Japan articles – Page 5
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FeatureFatal ship fire leaves Nissan vehicles stranded
Around 3,500 Nissan vehicles are reported to be adrift in the Pacific Ocean between Japan and Hawaii following a fire aboard the Sincerity Ace car carrier operated by Mitsui OSK Lines (MOL). Picture courtesy of US Coast GuardThe cause of the fire, which broke out on Monday December 31, is ...
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FeatureEnergising the synergising
Renault and Nissan began their wide-ranging alliance and set up cross-shareholdings in each other back in 1999, and since then Daimler, Avtovaz and most recently Mitsubishi have also become part of this evolving structure. Numerous shared vehicle platforms, manufacturing and logistics operations and back-office functions have been developed. Furthermore, impressive ...
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FeatureMoving on to terra firma
Following sustained pressure on margins in recent years, the global shipping industry has witnessed some radical changes, with consolidation and technology combining to reconfigure the way many shipping lines approach new business. With competition on the waves mounting, one new channel for many car carriers has been to expand ...
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FeatureJapanese carmakers count the cost of natural disasters
The majority of OEMs in Japan appear to have missed the main brunt of a typhoon that hit Japan’s central region around Osaka last week and of an earthquake in Hokkaido, in the north of the country, that followed shortly after – though production at Toyota’s car assembly plants has ...
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FeatureBattling a perfect storm
The finished vehicle sector in North America is dealing with a lot of challenges at the moment. There is a basic imbalance in the number of vehicles that the US imports and exports with its global trading partners, which contributes to ongoing problems involving congestion and limited capacity on hinterland ...
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FeatureJapanese floods disrupt automotive supply chain
Catastrophic flooding and landslides in the west of Japan have disrupted production and supply at some of the country’s leading vehicle makers. Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at the second meeting of the Emergency Response HeadquartersWhile the flooding did not cause damage to its production plants, Mazda had to suspend operations ...
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FeatureAlliance opens distribution centre in Melbourne
The Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance has opened a warehouse in Melbourne, Australia for the distribution of aftermarket parts.The company said the 37,000 sq. m Alliance National Distribution Centre was designed to maximise productivity and accuracy, allowing manufacturers to enhance services to their national dealership networks across the country. The centre will also ...
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FeatureBrexit’s unaccustomed burdens
Nine months before the UK’s planned departure from the European Union, uncertainty over customs arrangements is emerging as one of the major concerns of manufacturers – perhaps just as much, if not more so, than the prospect of tariffs and taxes. The risks and impacts from delays in logistics flows ...
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FeatureA hard look at software risks
Few people realise how much software runs today’s cars, observes Les Hatton, emeritus professor of forensic software engineering at Kingston University, UK. “We sit at home and can’t work out why the printer isn’t working, and then we’ll get in a car where there’s probably more software underneath,” he says. ...
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FeatureYazaki given record fine over cartel conduct
Japanese parts supplier Yazaki has been ordered to pay an increased penalty of A$46m ($34.5m) by Australia’s federal court in respect of cartel conduct in the supply of wire harnesses used in the manufacture of the Toyota Camry.The decision follows an appeal by the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission (ACCC), ...
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FeatureContinental extends inbound deal with Kerry Logistics
Kerry Logistics has secured a four-year extension to its contract with the tyre-making division of tier supplier Continental.The third-party logistics provider’s division in Germany will handle international ocean freight export of tyres and provide logistics services for Continental’s procurement of raw materials to production sites worldwide, mainly from Asia.Kerry Logistics’ ...
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FeatureTrusting the market will stay afloat
European vehicle-handling ports saw growth in vehicle vehicle volumes in 2017, however geo-political worries – not least Brexit – is causing concerns. Ports continue to invest but there are worries over future volumes and capacity levels.
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FeatureNissan and Mitsubishi to share spare parts resources in Japan
Nissan Motor and Mitsubishi Motors have arranged to jointly use a spare parts warehouse near Tokyo, Japan, and share a regional delivery network as part of efforts to work together more closely to reduce logistics costs.From October this year, the carmakers will share Nissan's 355,000 sq.m Sagamihara Parts Center, about ...
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FeatureToyota acelera el uso de hidrógeno en Motomachi
Toyota empleará 20 carretillas elevadoras más con pilas de combustible en su planta de ensamblado de Motomachi en Japón junto con una estación de hidrógeno para repostaje.Las horquillas se utilizarán para el transporte de componentes y materiales en la fábrica y se suman a otras dos carretillas elevadoras con capacidad ...
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FeatureToyota accelerates use of hydrogen at Motomachi
Toyota has deployed 20 more fuel cell forklifts at its Motomachi assembly plant in Japan, along with a hydrogen station for refuelling.Used to move parts and goods around the factory, the lift trucks join two older fuel cell forklifts with a lift capacity of 2.5 tonnes that were introduced 14 ...
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FeatureBridgestone launches sustainable procurement policy
Tyre manufacturer Bridgestone has introduced a global sustainable procurement policy to ensure compliance with environmental laws and regulations, respect for human rights and other considerations.The guidelines, announced on February 5th, are applicable to all purchased materials and services and to all suppliers globally, the Japanese company said. The policy will ...
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FeatureUK vehicle exports to India fall sharply
Figures from the Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) have shown a growing divide between the number of finished vehicles the UK imports from India and the number it exports to the country.According to the SMMT, finished vehicle imports from India into the UK grew by 8.3% in 2017 ...
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FeatureToyota opts for digital planning
Toyota Motor Corporation is to switch to a cloud-based supply chain management system from a manual set-up, to manage its automotive demand and supply chain processes.The system, called RapidResponse, will unify the company’s global demand and supply planning between its sales and production divisions and help better manage vehicle and ...
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FeatureJapan trials truck platooning
Hino Motors, Isuzu Motors, Volvo group-owned UD Trucks and Daimler subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus have begun highway testing of truck platooning in Japan, under a project backed by the government.Each platoon consists of three 12-metre trucks, spaced about 35 metres apart and driving at 80km/h on motorways near ...
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FeatureDisaster recovery: Prepared for the worst?
As the scale of the destruction wrought by the earthquake and subsequent tsunami that devastated Japan’s north-eastern coastline in March 2011 became apparent, managers within BMW’s purchasing function were asked if it would affect the company. Their answer? No – because BMW had no suppliers in Japan.But that wasn’t quite ...