All north america articles – Page 83

  • hoegh
    Feature

    Getting the sea legs back again

    2010-01-02T11:53:20Z

    Circling the globe to find growthRussian headacheShort-sea outlookCapacity conundrumPredicting the right balanceOcean carriers are sailing just a bit steadier as they emerge from the stormiest of seas this past year, with at least a mild recovery anticipated for Asian trade lanes in 2010. Finished Vehicle Logistics charts their course.The global ...

  • emile-benaim
    Feature

    Toyota to providers: ...let’s talk about price!

    2010-01-02T11:11:40Z

    Road carriers need to speak up if they want to slow downA missed opportunity and deferred risk?But it’s still business as usualA closer look at the networkHave other OEMs changed more, or just said so?Time for a change for TPS?The door is open for providersEighthToyota’s recent struggles in Europe had ...

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    Feature

    A new year, with new (old) locations?

    2010-01-01T16:53:53Z

    Since the late 1960s the geography of the automotive sector has been fairly fixed, with most car production in the region where the cars were sold. That strategy remains the mantra of many supply chain executives at OEMs today as well.The exception to this of course has been Japan and ...

  • Feature

    Logistics recession lessons

    2010-01-01T15:30:21Z

    Nobody likes a downturn, but sometimes in business, as in personal life, you have to learn the hard way. Automotive Logistics Publisher Louis Yiakoumi presents his six essential lessons from the hard timesNo rest for the wicked. Despite the downturn – which led to vehicle stockpiles, shutdowns, parked or scrapped trucks, ...

  • track-1.jpg
    Feature

    Track & trace: do we need the ‘next best thing’?

    2010-01-01T13:15:21Z

    The automotive industry has been talking up the potential of RFID for decades, but with budgets strapped, there appears to be no rush to bin the barcodeAuto's enduring affair with the barcodeRFID still only used in fragmentsTrack what is sensibleThe future is now... or soonAt the end of the production ...

  • freight-11.jpg
    Feature

    Back in the fast lane

    2010-01-01T11:55:57Z

    Premium freight services nearly disappeared at the outset of the financial crisis. Now recovery and inventory cautious-carmakers have brought back the need for speed, but under new terms.Off a cliffSigns of recoverySame shipments, different dayCentralised purchasingLower cost optionsA cautious recoveryWhat will electric vehicles mean for air refight?To reduce inbound inventory ...

  • pack-1.jpg
    Feature

    Packing a punch

    2010-01-01T11:20:52Z

    We sort through the tiresome marketing jargon to identify the real innovations in packaging for automotive, and report on the benefitsInnovation is among those words editors should always treat with scepticism (other bugbears include optimisation, continuous improvement and synergy). A purchasing manager or logistics executive should use no less caution ...

  • name-1.jpg
    Feature

    Giving logistics in India a new name

    2010-01-01T10:34:30Z

    Mahindra & Mahindra’s chief operating officer, Rajesh Jejuriker (pictured right), believes logistics and ‘demand’ chain management have improved the carmaker’s customer satisfaction ratings. Christopher Ludwig speaks to him and head of supply chain, SK Krishnan (pictured left), about M&M’s groundbreaking order-to-delivery system.Logistics ranks high in the management chainThe production and ...

  • giant-1.jpg
    Feature

    The sleeping giant reawakens

    2010-01-01T10:03:45Z

    Signs of relief have finally come to American shores, and OEMs at this year’s conference promised big changes for the supply chain from lessons learned along the way. But what will it all mean for LSPs?American on the outside, global insideWill the supply chain be electrified?Low inventory... for a moment ...

  • outlook-1.jpg
    Feature

    Global outlook: fixing the dam for 2010

    2010-01-01T09:57:15Z

    Automotive logistics companies were breathing easier at the end of 2009. Earlier, global light vehicle sales were projected to drop 14% to around 58m units. Production, which corresponds closely with the revenue for 3PLs, had been predicted below 50m.But incentives, a rebound in Asia, and gradual recovery have led forecasters ...

  • profil-ford-11.jpg
    Feature

    In Profile: Ford's Matthias Schulz

    2010-01-01T09:27:54Z

    Matthias Schulz’s career with Ford began just two days after he received his Masters degree in 1987. His path toward leading Ford’s logistics in Europe has a somewhat unexpected origin; he is a mathematics expert, with studies in areas similar to that of Stephen Hawkins.He started at Ford as an ...

  • Honda_Automax181.jpg
    Feature

    Honda's Performance Excellence winners

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    American Honda has announced the winners of its 2009 Performance Excellence programme – the carmaker’s logistics operations performance recognition awards. The winners are CSX, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL) and Selland Auto Transport. Logistic vendors in each category are evaluated monthly on their performance in logistics quality, speed and vehicle ...

  • Night_Charter.jpg
    Feature

    Time-critical recovery to continue next year?

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    In just over a week the annual time-critical movement of consumer goods par excellence will be getting underway from the North Pole for the budget price of a glass of egg nog, or milk and cookies left by the chimney. But time-critical movements of automotive parts have also seen a ...

  • k-line.jpg
    Feature

    Mercedes growth in shipping to China

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    The strong growth of Mercedes-Benz models in China has resulted in new export contracts from Europe and the US between the carmaker and finished vehicle carriers K-Line and NYK. Starting in January, K-Line and NYK will be working on a 50:50 split of movements of Mercedes’ S-, E-, C- A-, ...

  • MercVPC_baltimore.jpg
    Feature

    Mercedes will handle BMW in Baltimore

    2009-12-16T00:00:00Z

    Mercedes-Benz USA (MBUSA) will process BMW and MINI vehicles through the Port of Baltimore from March 2010 under a new five-year deal between the two companies. MBUSA will provide pre-delivery inspection services including processing and repair at its facility at the port for an annual movement of 50,000 BMW and ...

  • MercTuscaloosa1.jpg
    Feature

    Logistics savings sway C-Class move

    2009-12-09T00:00:00Z

    Daimler is planning to shift production of the next-generation Mercedes C-Class for the US market to its plant in Tuscaloosa, Alabama from Sindelfingen in Germany in 2014. At the same time it will move C-Class production for the European market from Sindelfingen to Bremen. In return, SL production will move ...

  • CNtrain1.jpg
    Feature

    Canadian govt takes action over CN dispute

    2009-12-02T00:00:00Z

    Canada’s federal government imposed back-to-work legislation on Monday for 1,700 locomotive engineers at Canadian National Railway (CN), the country’s largest freight operator, who are striking over contract and wage issues. The strike action, which began at midnight last Saturday, has threatened vehicle movements in the country, with CN forced to ...

  • NUMMI.jpg
    Feature

    Toyota blames logistics for NUMMI closure

    2009-11-25T00:00:00Z

    Logistics is behind Toyota’s decision to close its New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (NUMMI) plant in Fremont, California next March, according to the carmaker. Answering questions from disgruntled workers who called into a show on KGO radio station in San Francisco to complain about the closure, James Lentz, head of ...

  • KMMGSorento.jpg
    Feature

    First US Kia plant goes to work with Glovis

    2009-11-18T00:00:00Z

    Kia Motors’ first plant in the US – Kia Motor Manufacturing Georgia (KMMG) – has officially started production, with inbound and outbound logistics support from the US-based branch of its Hyundai-Kia subsidiary Glovis. Following roll out of the first vehicle in October, the $1 billion-plant went into full production of ...

  • Ulsan.jpg
    Feature

    US carmakers call for level playing field with Korea

    2009-11-11T00:00:00Z

    As part of his first trip to Asia, which begins tomorrow, US President Barack Obama will visit South Korea to push for a wide-ranging free trade agreement (FTA) with the republic that has been sitting around since 2007. But US carmakers are calling for the removal of barriers to US ...