All Policy and regulation articles – Page 31
-
Feature
Russians drop US dollar for components purchases
Russian Trade and Industry minister Denis Manturov (pictured) has revealed that many Russian automotive manufacturers are increasingly using national currencies, rather than the US dollar, to pay for imported components. The move has been prompted by recent US sanctions on Russia.Several companies have so far announced the policy, trade with ...
-
Feature
WLTP: 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, ...
-
Feature
EEU cuts import duties but trade within bloc is in dispute
The Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) has officially cut duties on finished vehicles being imported into the bloc from 20% to 17%. The rule took effect from September 1 this year, while a further reduction to 15% is proposed to take place at the same time in 2019. The EEU comprises ...
-
Feature
Trump rejects tariff offer in trans-Atlantic car trade
Donald Trump has rejected an EU offer to eliminate tariffs on cars, saying the proposal is not good enough.Trump said that ending duties on US car imports into the EU would do little to help the automotive industry in the US because Europeans would still not buy American-made cars. “Their ...
-
Feature
Ford cancels Focus imports to US from China
Ford has scrapped plans to export the Focus Active model from China to the US because of tariffs of 25% being imposed by the US government. Exports from China were due to begin next year following plans first announced in 2017, when the carmaker decided to supply the car from ...
-
Feature
V8 engine production restarted at Scania
Swedish truckmaker Scania is trying to reduce the order backlog for trucks, and industrial and marine V8 engines, because of a strike at an unnamed supplier of cast engine components, which began on June 14 and is reportedly continuing. However, last week the supplier started to produce engine blocks for ...
-
Feature
Changjiu Chuzhou to start making convertible trailers
Chinese firm Changjiu Chuzhou Special Vehicle Manufacturing (SVM) and Convertible Trailer Manufacturing Worldwide (CTM) have signed an agreement for the former to start producing convertible trailers for the Chinese market. Wang Xin, CEO of Changjiu Chuzhou Special Vehicle Manufacturing (left), signs MOU with Bill Pawluk, CEO of CTMCTM, which is ...
-
Feature
US announces tentative deal with Mexico
Following a year of renegotiations over the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), the US administration has this week outlined the basics of a new bilateral agreement with Mexico on trade in agriculture and manufactured goods, including finished vehicles and automotive parts.The move follows President Trump’s rejection of the existing ...
-
Feature
Standoff between the US and Turkey raises questions for OEMs
The collapse in the value of the Turkish lira and the political stand-off between Turkey and the US have some potentially serious consequences for the continued growth of the automotive sector in the country.Car and light van production in Turkey has grown steadily in recent years, to around 1.4-1.5m vehicles ...
-
Feature
Spanish authorities impose fines at Vigo
Spain’s National Commission for Markets and Competition (CNMC) has imposed fines on five stevedoring companies and five port unions for colluding to restrict competition at the port of Vigo and keep prices unnaturally high.The CNMC said their collusion had prevented the loading and unloading of finished vehicles from vessels other ...
-
Feature
Anu Goel: the highs and lows
What have been some of the high points in logistics in your career?One is the swing toward providing a level of service that customers expect, as opposed to providing a level of service that we either think they need or that the system can provide. Those are two different ...
-
Feature
Battling 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 ...
-
Feature
Caterpillar highlights rising costs
Supply chain expenses, materials prices and tariffs all conspired to raise costs for US heavy equipment manufacturer Caterpillar in the second quarter of this year, the company has reported.Despite revealing that net profits more than doubled in the period to $1.71 billion from $802m a year ago while turnover rose ...
-
Feature
Exports prop up UK car production despite trade uncertainty
The number of cars made in the UK fell by 5.5% to 128,799 last month, with domestic demand plummeting by 47.2% to 15,647, according to figures from the Society for Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT). However, production was bolstered by a 6% rise in exports to 113,152 units, with almost ...
-
Feature
Vehicle makers grapple with cost of trade wars
Carmakers are faced with shifting production, higher purchase costs, lower profits and the possibility of raising the price of their products as a consequence of the continuing global trade conflict.Volvo Cars of Sweden is shifting production of its XC60 SUV for the US market from China to Europe to avoid ...
-
Feature
EEU hits vehicle makers with revised rates
Carmakers with assembly plants in Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus are now unable to export finished vehicles duty free within the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), because the localisation rate has increased.Previously, almost all Russian carmakers, as well as those foreign carmakers with plants in the region, were registered on the EEU’s ...
-
Feature
Nafta Survey
Signed 24 years ago, the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) was designed to remove barriers to business between the US, Mexico and Canada, creating the world’s largest free-trade area. Since then, the economies of its three members have been on an upward curve, US and Canadian consumers have benefitted ...
-
Feature
A rising tide – with political undercurrents
Mexican production and exports continued to grow through 2017, both to the US and globally. At the same time, US sales remained strong and were fed by an increase in imports from established and emerging markets. It is only in Canada that both sales and assembly are showing a decline. ...
-
Feature
Pasha sees positive drivers at the ports
Pasha Automotive Services (PAS) processed a total of more than 448,600 vehicle units across its four port terminal facilities in the US through 2017 for around 17 customers. The company, which is part of the wider Pasha Group, has operations on the US west coast at the ports of Grays ...
-
Feature
Industry welcomes Brexit white paper but calls for more clarity on trade
Representatives of the UK automotive industry have welcomed a government white paper on Brexit proposing an economic partnership when the UK leaves the European Union. The paper outlines how the UK wants to establish a new free trade area to replace the Single Market and maintain the movement of goods ...