All north america articles – Page 79
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River deep, mountain high
Dicey roads, creaking bridges and traffic jamsIveco focuses on BrazilExports fall offMAN trucks on As the South American giant speeds away from the financial crisis, the country’s notorious infrastructure and challenging terrain is causing problems again. But that is not stopping the delivery of buses and trucks, just slowing it ...
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Putting plan B into action
When the best-laid schemes of supply chain management go askew, premium freight is the last and best resort to avoid the worst. Marcia MacLeod looks at the contingency thinking and critical strategies that save the day."What if" thinkingPersonal servicesSupply chain preassuresIn an ideal world the automotive supply chain would run ...
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Space for rent
The automotive warehouse real estate market has taken a major hit, but it remains a dynamic sector where the requirements are becoming more and more specificA different game in AsiaThe shape of automotive warehousingInbound warehouses versus aftermarketFuture trends for warehousing locationsThe world’s automotive industry has had a torrid three years: ...
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Stop hanging around
Getting in and getting out…fastChrysler-Fiat deal could nurture two-way flowPorts need to be meaner and leanerGrappling with recessionEast coast is fiercely competitiveLess attractive than containersHow the West Coast comparesWho you sell to still dictates carmakers’ choice of ports but patterns are shifting, and US ports try to keep pace with ...
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Making plans reality
The dividing line between IT vendors offering planning systems, and those offering execution systems may no longer hold.The split between planning and executionDownturn brings the two sides togetherBuild-to-order productionIn April, as the Icelandic volcano filled European air space with ash clouds, leading to much of its closure, the assembly lines ...
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Indian exports seek the perfect port
The Big Two versus home-grown talentAny port in a boom?Mumbai PortMundra PortChennai PortEnnore PortThe futureForeign carmakers have been quick to seize the opportunity of using India as an export base for small cars. Since 1998, policies in India have supported wholly-owned vehicle manufacturing facilities allowing foreign carmakers to set up ...
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A simple approach to damage prevention
Training is the best defenceSpeeding up the claim timeData capture is the frontline of preventionLet’s talk about damageJust a simple premise that goes a long wayThe fight against damage is fought on many fronts, from protective products to sophisticated data tracking systems. But a focus on staff training and continuous ...
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How to cope without a crystal ball
General Motor’s head of logistics Susanna Webber talks to Christopher Ludwig about improving supplier relations and how a total enterprise cost approach could help the company understand how to react to future risk and changes in the global supply chainLooking back and learning from the painThe recession's silver liningBuilding a ...
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In Profile: Joe Hinrichs
Joe Hinrichs' rise at Ford has been as quick as it has been impressive. Having worked a decade for General Motors, and several years at a manufacturing investment firm, he first came to the attention of Automotive Logistics in 2002, when he took over as Ford’s executive director for material ...
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Suppliers are healthier, but face capacity shortfalls
The outlook for tier suppliers in North America has improved significantly in 2010 with higher vehicle sales coming atop aggressive moves to cut costs. The recent “Automotive Supplier Barometer”, released in May by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association (OESA), a North American supplier group, reveals significant improvements in production capacity ...
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Practice makes perfect with proper qualification
At a time when much of the European and North American vehicle logistics industry is still recovering from the harsh cuts in capacity and staff following the global downturn, there have been worries on both sides of the Atlantic over the potential for looming shortages not only in future transport ...
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Logistics favoured Blue Springs plant
Toyota’s decision to recommence construction on its Blue Springs plant in the US state of Mississippi and shift Corolla production there from the New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California, which closed in March, is in part based on the better logistics the plant will offer. According ...
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Analysis China: rising currency & wages to benefit global LSPs?
Factories in China continued to see disruptions this week to the flow of material to assembly lines following another set of strikes by parts suppliers over low wages. This time the walkouts were in Guangdon province at Denso (Guangzhou Nansha), a subsidiary of Japanese tier supplier Denso–the largest global supplier ...
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Executives on the move
As part of the latest management shake up at General Motors that is seeing dozens of executives change roles in areas of product planning, vehicle engineering, purchasing and supply chain, Susanna Webber is moving from her position as executive director for global logistics to become GM Europe’s vice president for ...
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Fitch doubts over auto increase at Jaxport
Fitch Ratings has reported a negative outlook for the Jacksonville Port Authority (Jaxport) and stated the port is too dependent on automotive imports at a time when it is planning to increase vehicle throughput by 40%. The ratings firm said the revision in the outlook from ‘stable’ to ‘negative’ reflects ...
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Logistics now central to decisions at GM
General Motors has introduced a supply chain management initiative in which logistics will play a more integral role in product lifecycle planning. Called ‘Total Enterprise Cost’, it is intended to improve how the carmaker calculates project and material sourcing costs and will go further than the ‘total landed cost’ sourcing ...
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Are short sea sulphur caps a political mistake?
While ro-ro providers outside the Baltic and North seas sail under a sulphur content cap of 3.5% until 2020, short sea ro-ro shippers operating there face a reduction to 0.1% by 2015. The International Maritime Organisation’s regulations could cost them €40,000 ($50,000) per journey, a move that threatens to force ...
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Ryder wins Delphi award amid growing business strength
Delphi, the US-based tier one supplier, has given Ryder System a 2010 Above & Beyond Award for services in supply chain management and logistics. The award, established in 2007 and presented annually, recognises Delphi suppliers for special service events that went beyond contractual obligations during the 2009 calendar year. Ryder ...
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North American carriers face capacity crunch
North American finished vehicle carriers are facing capacity constraints and financing problems that are set to worsen if the number of vehicles moved per year rises above the current forecasts. Light vehicle sales for many carmakers are currently around 30% higher this year compared to 2009, and the US market ...
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Moving forward means slowing down – WWL
Moving vehicles by ocean is going to get very expensive very soon and fuel consumption will have to be significantly reduced to alleviate those costs and meet new stringent emissions regulations being brought in over the next five years. The industry could face longer transit times as a consequence but ...