All Opinion articles – Page 3
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FeatureEconomic nationalism to force a lane-change
Typically, the world experiences waves of economic nationalism every three decades but these are often limited to one region each time. Today we’re experiencing a global wave of economic disruption across multiple regions simultaneously. In reaction, automotive manufacturers are having to increase the flexibility and agility of their supply chains ...
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FeatureStockpiling strategies to survive Brexit
The prospect of Brexit in just a few months, deal or no deal, has focused minds on the inevitable consequence of supply chain interruption. The British media have begun to report the likelihood of stockpiling goods and even panic buying of certain products such as pharmaceuticals and food – although ...
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FeatureBordering on Brexit – why it pays to be prepared
The Eurotunnel has carried more than 26 million trucks and more than 340 million tonnes of freight goods since 1994. A total of 25% of trade in goods between the UK and continental Europe goes through the Channel Tunnel, representing a total value of around 115 billion euros per year. ...
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FeatureEU workers are key: don't close the UK's door
According to the Department for Transport’s official statistics, more goods were imported by road into the UK than exported last year, with 10,000 lorries making their way through Dover Strait per day alone. Up to 86% of cargo exported from the UK went to the Irish Republic (23%), France (22%), ...
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FeatureBlockchain can disrupt the auto industry
Blockchain has built its reputation as a distributed ledger platform, which provides a framework for securely using and trading cryptocurrencies, such as Bitcoin. However, its potential extends far beyond financial services.The functions of blockchain could cater to other sectors to create more transparency and deliver greater efficiency. One example is ...
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FeatureNew magazine, new Nafta
Revamped at last, after months of discussion, much to-ing and fro-ing between the parties involved, and some eleventh-hour tweaks – yes, the new-look print edition of Automotive Logistics is finally here. I do hope its arrival doesn’t overshadow that other thing that was redesigned recently – the free trade agreement which has governed business between the US, Canada and Mexico over the past 24 years…
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FeaturePorts in a political storm
Any port in a storm, they say. But what if that port is being battered by problems of its own? Several speakers at our Import Export summit in a thankfully balmy Baltimore this August warned about congestion, lack of capacity in road and rail links and limited funds for infrastructure development – longstanding issues that are now being exposed to an increasingly tempestuous global trading environment…
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FeatureDon't hope for a trade war truce
Escalating trade wars look set to be the new risk frontier in the automotive supply chain. With countries and trading blocs starting to retaliate against US moves to raise tariffs, open trade borders are closing in quickly. On July 6, 2018, the US began imposing a 25% tax on $34 ...
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FeatureDeal or no deal – LSPs should prepare for Brexit now
Logistics providers reading the headlines about Brexit may well feel uncertain about how their business needs to transform. A range of potential outcomes, from a soft Brexit to no deal, makes it difficult to know what the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU will look like. Although much is ...
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FeatureWLTP: lower emissions, greater challenges
Emissions targets for OEMs are tighter and the method for testing efficiency is more stringent than ever before. As of the start of this month (September), all new vehicles must adhere to New Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP) standards, which provide ‘real world’ fuel consumption figures and, therefore, ...
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FeatureTrue business doesn’t have only one winner
The competition has been fierce, various people have taken a kicking and at least a few own goals have been scored; the global trade war, much like this year’s FIFA World Cup, has made for compulsive viewing. This tariff battle, principally between the US and China, has gathered pace so fast that it’s difficult to comment on the state of play – and amid the lingering suspicion that it could all be over at the drop of a tweet…
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FeatureOpening up the doors to global trade
They do say that as one door closes, another one opens. And so, as US President Donald Trump puts up barriers to trade (if not yet a wall) in his bid for greatness, one of his principle targets for tariffs – at the last count $250 billion worth of them – is opening up for business. As delegates heard at our AL China conference, the country will reduce its duty on vehicle imports at the same time as removing a cap on foreign company ownership…
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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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FeatureSMMT calls for end to Brexit uncertainty
The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) has joined major manufacturers in calling for the British government to end uncertainty over the UK’s trading relationship with the European Union after Brexit, and to ensure the frictionless flow of parts and vehicles. Speaking at a press conference during the SMMT’s ...
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FeatureDigitalising the automotive supply chain
Digitalisation of the automotive industry is a topic that has been high up on most OEM and tier one supplier agendas for some time. However, the digital age is transforming at such breakneck speed that there is the continual fear of being left behind, or even worse, of deciding on ...
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FeatureKeeping up with the pace of change
The automotive industry used to be thought of as slow moving. Until fairly recently, it was not much of a stretch to say that the motor car, for all its improvements in safety and technology, had not fundamentally changed in a century. Vintage car owners could easily point to hundreds ...
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FeatureBringing the IoT to the automotive supply chain
Since Toyota first pioneered its innovative Lean production system in the 1930s, the automotive industry has been a trailblazer in developing data-driven strategies to optimise manufacturing processes
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FeatureChanges and challenges
We are living in an era of great change, which is both exciting and a little bit unnerving. On the technological front, developments such as the emergence of autonomous and electric vehicles could support cleaner and more efficient transportation of both people and goods. In parallel, cultural shifts such as increased ride sharing may have implications for automotive sales and, of course, design, production and logistics. That’s the exciting stuff. The unnerving part is…
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FeatureThink macro, not micro
Modern consumer habits are constantly changing. As technology evolves and demand increases, supply chain managers face new challenges, as they attempt to compete on a global level.In the automotive industry, in particular, where production is highly time-sensitive, operations must be streamlined to drive productivity and meet demand. Traditional supply chain ...
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FeatureAvoiding supply chain disruptions with effective legal planning
Even the greatest logisticians at the world’s most prestigious automotive companies can’t predict the future. Economic downturns occur, suppliers falter and disputes occur that endanger just-in-time manufacturing. While these disruptions in the supply chain are inevitable, they do not have to be catastrophic.Although the strategies shown here are written from ...