All articles by Malcolm Ramsay

  • 04-NIO ES8_Shanghai Waigaoqiao Port
    News

    Chinese automakers surge amid western withdrawal from Russian market

    2023-05-15T18:19:00Z

    Analysts at last week’s ECG Spring Congress looked at the rise in Chinese vehicle exports to Russia in the wake of the withdrawal of western carmakers following the start of hostilties in Ukraine

  • Vehicle logistics
    News

    Rebuilding trust is key to solving the European capacity crisis

    2023-05-15T17:26:00Z

    At last week’s Spring Congress of the Association of European Vehicle Logistics’ (ECG) closer industry dialogue was seen to be helping repair a stubborn capacity crisis in the outbound sector

  • Daimer_etruck
    Feature

    Taking the smoke out of the chain

    2023-03-28T14:01:00Z

    Vehicle makers including Daimler Truck, Mercedes-Benz and Toyota are working with logistics providers to clean up the inbound parts logistics supporting ambitious EV production targets

  • RZD_rail_image_empty_track
    Feature

    Threadbare trade on the Silk Road

    2022-08-16T09:14:00Z

    Logistics providers including DSV, Gefco, Geodis and Maersk are looking at contingenies for parts movements following the breakdown in container shipments by rail between Europe and China

  • KN_1920_sustainabilitypact
    Feature

    Delivering emissions cuts in the face of disruption

    2022-04-26T10:53:00Z

    Logistics providers including DSV, Inform, Kuehne+Nagel and Maersk are making sustainability a side-effect of supply chain optimisation

  • PortLA_night-shift
    Feature

    An ongoing crisis for terminal throughput

    2022-01-18T10:45:00Z

    Supply chain delays that were initially viewed as temporary hiccups have now morphed into a prolonged crisis as global trade dynamics have been upended

  • Willenius Wilhelmsen, port
    Feature

    Reaching for the stars: how Galileo’s satellites could help automotive logistics

    2020-03-16T10:27:00Z

    Since launching its first test navigation satellite in 2005, the European Space Agency (ESA) has steadily built up the Galileo global positioning network and today operates 22 satellites. With four further launches due in 2020, the Galileo network is set to become the first fully operational high-accuracy global navigation satellite system (GNSS) – heralding a new era of precision navigation and, for the automotive industry, bringing opportunities for improved vehicle logistics.

  • Vessel insight1
    Feature

    Autonomy ahoy: Shipping industry moves toward crewless vessels

    2019-06-10T13:46:00Z

    Autonomous vehicles have been attracting a lot of attention as the automotive industry pushes towards future mobility. But what is the potential for autonomous ships?

  • Bridge
    Feature

    Shipping and climate change: Are we in hot water?

    2019-05-20T09:22:00Z

    With 2019 set to be one of the hottest years on record, for the shipping sector the issue of climate change is becoming a concern. But how great is the danger to vessels, their crews and cargo? And could there be any upside to global geographical changes?

  • Port of Dover
    Feature

    Bordering on Brexit

    2018-12-04T15:08:01Z

    Brexit continues to cause some serious headaches for those involved in the UK’s automotive sector. With the publication of a draft withdrawal agreement on November 14, UK prime minister, Theresa May, affirmed her commitment to a continued customs territory. Whether that intent will be realised is as much in doubt ...

  • Fact $1bn
    Feature

    Moving on to terra firma

    2018-10-19T11:12:00Z

    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 ...

  • Auto Energy - Picture courtesy of UECC
    Feature

    Hitting the gas

    2018-10-18T16:20:03Z

    Environmental regulations covering the shipping industry are set to tighten across a range of parameters, from the sulphur content in fuel to CO2 emissions. In response, some shipping operators have begun to explore the use of liquefied natural gas (LNG) in place of traditional marine fuel oil. Offering a reduction ...

  • Audi 2018
    Feature

    Taking cover from the heat

    2018-10-12T12:32:03Z

    In late August 2017, Hurricane Harvey – the storm that devastated the Caribbean, flattening Puerto Rico – made landfall on the Texas coast. The second-costliest tropical cyclone on record and the third hurricane of the exceptionally active 2017 hurricane season, it inflicted a reported $125 billion in damage and, according ...

  • DSC_5322
    Feature

    Grappling with the capacity crunch

    2018-07-17T12:16:41Z

    With demand for automotive exports via North American ports rising again last year, OEMs face a number of new challenges in handling vehicles in 2018. With capacity already strained at many hubs, the threat of increased regulatory restrictions on trade is adding further uncertainty for manufacturers moving forward.Congestion continues to ...

  • 16C230_03
    Feature

    Time to fall in line

    2018-07-02T14:42:53Z

    In April 2016, a fleet of trucks – some of which had driven almost 2,000km – arrived in the Dutch port of Maasvlakte and made modest headlines around the world. A few months later, a three-strong convoy of Volvo trucks hauled three containers on the interstate highway from the port ...

  • UK Managing Director David Jennison
    Feature

    A match made in heaven?

    2018-06-28T10:46:58Z

    According to a study carried out by the European Commission in 2014, almost a quarter of truck journeys on Europe’s roads are carried out empty. In individual member states, the prevalence of empty running can be even higher: in the UK, for instance, Department for Transport (DfT) statistics put the ...

  • HERE Tracking_1
    Feature

    Real-time tracking: Is it Here yet?

    2018-05-10T14:45:00Z

    Real-time cargo tracking has always had its appeal. The problem has been finding a technology that could actually deliver on the aspiration

  • Container_Loading_Forklift_closeup_static
    Feature

    Logistics IT: Is there an app for that?

    2018-01-26T12:18:25Z

    At US finished vehicle logistics specialist Jack Cooper Logistics, recounts president Andrea Amico, as part of a contract for carrying out the collection and inspection of ex-fleet vehicles on behalf of a US carmaker, the need to supply seven images of each inspected vehicle was suddenly upped to a requirement ...

  • BMW_supply
    Feature

    Disaster recovery: Prepared for the worst?

    2018-01-18T15:39:36Z

    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 ...

  • Opening_Sunet_container ship
    Feature

    The twilight of global trade?

    2017-11-06T14:16:00Z

    Globalisation and free trade may be reversing towards regional supply chains for a mix of policy and economic reasons