All Policy and regulation articles – Page 35
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FeatureGeneral strike in Catalonia hits assembly at plants around Barcelona
This week’s general strike in the Spanish region of Catalonia has disrupted vehicle production in the region and distribution networks across the modes.Strike action began on Tuesday (October 3rd) in protest at the police violence that hit the region’s independence referendum on October 1st. Hundreds of people were injured as ...
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FeatureScania vows to appeal against EC's €880m fine for price-fixing
Volkswagen-owned commercial vehicle manufacturer Scania has said it will appeal against a European Commission fine of just over €880m ($1.04 billion) for its role in an alleged truckmaking cartel that is said to have lasted 14 years.In late September, the EC said its long-running investigation had found that Scania had ...
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FeatureBrexit casts shadow over outlook in automotive and logistics sectors
A new report out this week from global law firm Baker McKenzie has suggested that annual revenues from UK automotive exports could fall by nearly £8 billion ($10.6 billion) if negotiations with the EU follow a ‘hard Brexit’ line. At the same time, a separate report from Barclays Corporate Banking ...
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FeatureAn aftermarket network rebuilt for rapid response at BMW
An interview with Wolfgang Baumann, vice-president of parts logistics management and responsible for the global supply of service parts for the BMW Group
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FeatureVolkswagen pulls the plug on exports from Russia
VW has announced it will cease exports of finished vehicles from Russia in a few weeks’ time, as a result of high raw materials costs, quality issues and differing emissions standards.Speaking to local news outlet Interfax recently, Oliver Grunberg, technical director of Volkswagen Group Rus, said: “The last batch of ...
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FeatureHöegh Autoliners settles with US authorities after cartel investigation
Shipping company Höegh Autoliners has agreed a settlement with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) after a price-fixing investigation dating back five years.The company has agreed to pay $21m in fines related to exports from the US to the Middle East, following the DOJ’s investigation into the car carrier industry ...
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FeatureGreenpeace protestors board ro-ro vessel carrying VW diesel vehicles
Greenpeace activists have boarded a ro-ro vessel in the UK’s Thames Estuary carrying Volkswagen diesel-engine passenger vehicles for the UK.A group of 25 volunteers in kayaks and boats surrounded the 23,000 tonne ship owned by K-Line’s European short-sea subsidiary, KESS, and attempted to stop the Volkswagen cars from entering the ...
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FeatureConference report: Attracting a talent for disruption
Given the pace of change in digital technology the automotive logistics sector may not know exactly where it will be in ten years but it knows it is going somewhere different and that a risk-to-fail attitude is essential in adopting supply chain strategies for the future. What it cannot risk, ...
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FeatureA stronger Nafta could emerge from negotiations
Despite US President Donald Trump's recent warning that he may pull the country out of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta), Rogelio Landin of the US-Mexico Chamber of Commerce (pictured) continues to foresee a more positive outcome.Speaking at this year's Automotive Logistics Global Conference in Detroit, Landin, who has ...
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FeatureDaimler launches Fuso eCanter electric light-duty truck
Daimler's Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC) has launched the Fuso eCanter, an all-electric, light-duty truck.The first vehicles will be delivered to customers in the US, Europe and Japan before the end of the year. The company is planning to produce a total of 500 trucks over the next ...
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FeatureVolkswagen joins global battery alliance aiming to clean up supply chain
Volkswagen has been named amongst a group of corporations and NGOs aiming to end child labour, hazardous working conditions, pollution and environmental damage in the global battery supply chain.The Global Battery Alliance was launched this week at the World Economic Forum (WEF) Sustainable Development Impact Summit and aims to create ...
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FeatureKN launches lithium-ion battery logistics service out of Asia
This year’s IAA motor show in Frankfurt, Germany was notable for the continued focus on vehicle electrification, with carmakers committing to more electric vehicle (EV) models and options in the coming years. Governments, meanwhile, from the UK and France to China, have recently announced plans to shift away from combustion ...
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FeatureRo-ro carrier faces fine for anti-competitive behaviour in South Africa
Norwegian ro-ro carrier Höegh Autoliners has been referred to South Africa’s Competition Tribunal for charges relating to collusive tendering, price-fixing and market division.The country’s Competition Commission, which referred the case, is seeking an order obliging the company to pay an administrative penalty equal to 10% of its annual turnover on ...
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FeatureIndian vehicle sales bounce back post-GST but cess tax hike looms
India’s light vehicle sales have rebounded, following a big drop in June ahead of the implementation of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) on July 1st.Based on wholesale transactions, official Indian sales surged by 16% year-on-year in July to 334,000 units, as dealerships replenished their inventories.The GST is a value-added ...
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FeatureRussia to cut subsidies on finished vehicle transport from Far East
A draft decree recently released by the Russian Ministry for Trade and Industry shows that it plans to allocate 850m rubles ($14.3m) this year to subsidise finished vehicle movements from the Far East to the European side of the country.In total, the Russian government plans to reimburse transport costs for ...
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FeatureTrump suggests Nafta renegotiation is likely to lead to US withdrawal
Just a week after the formal renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) began, US president Donald Trump has suggested the US is likely to pull out of the arrangement.Speaking after the first round of talks about the two-decade-plus accord that many carmakers’ supply chains currently rely on, ...
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FeatureKCS Laredo facility will speed secure rail shipments between Mexico and US
A new cargo processing facility that should improve security for shipments heading northbound from Mexico was launched at the Laredo rail border crossing in the US state of Texas last week, as negotiations in North American on the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) got underway.The Unified Cargo Processing facility ...
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FeatureUK proposes retaining free-flowing customs system after Brexit
In a position paper released this week, the UK government has proposed an interim arrangement after the Brexit cut-off date in 2019 that would see the country continue to operate under the EU Customs Union until a new trade deal between the parties is negotiated.“The approaches we are setting out ...
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FeatureSiemens eHighway trial to take place in Germany next year
Engineering and technology giant Siemens is to build a 10km overhead contact line on the German motorway system to support electrified freight transport. The line will supply power to a hybrid truck in an initial trial taking place next year.The system will be installed on the A5 Autobahn between the ...
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FeatureEmbracing change to drive velocity in North American ports
This year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics Import Export summit in Baltimore revealed an industry embracing the latest digital technology to deal with some familiar challenges around port capacity, infrastructure and security, but facing changing dynamics in the movement of vehicles around North America, not least the renegotiation of the Nafta trade ...