All Policy and regulation articles – Page 42
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FeatureLack of federal funds is leaving ro-ro ports high and dry
With new vehicle sales and production in North America still running at record levels, the region’s vehicle-handling ports are running out of room. Larger vessels, sometimes arriving in bunches, are putting more pressure on terminals and yard space. Land for expansion, meanwhile, is hotly contested because port authorities have competing ...
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FeatureNissan says UK investment plans depend on Brexit deal
Nissan's CEO, Carlos Ghosn, has said the company's future investment plans in the UK are on hold and will depend on the outcome of discussions between the UK and the European Union on how they will continue to trade in the wake of June's Brexit result. Those discussions are unlikely ...
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FeatureAutomotive cartels: the inside story
In July, a group of four truck manufacturers were hit with the highest ever cartel fine by the European Commission for fixing prices and colluding over the implementation of new emissions standards.Over a 14-year period, from 1997 to 2011, Volvo Trucks, Daimler, Paccar’s DAF and CNH Industrial’s Iveco conspired with ...
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FeatureIndia passes long-awaited goods and services tax bill
The lower house of the Indian parliament has approved the bill required to bring in India's Goods and Services Tax (GST), which has the potential to transform the country’s domestic logistics and make it easier for manufacturers to move freight across internal state borders. It is expected to be ratified ...
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FeatureOntario and Michigan working together to support auto industry
The Canadian province of Ontario and its US neighbour Michigan have signed an agreement to promote regional competitiveness and innovation in the automotive industry through greater collaboration. The deal includes the provision to increase supply chain integration and transfer technology through business-to-business partnerships.Ontario and Michigan account for more than 26% ...
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ECG column: Evolution, not revolution
Newly elected ECG president Wolfgang Göbel believes the industry’s mood of optimism in Europe is the perfect backdrop against which to make progress during his tenureIn this, my first article since being elected president of ECG at the 2016 General Assembly in May, I would like to take the opportunity ...
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FeatureChina’s BAIC Motors begins export sales in Mexico
Wei Huacheng (second from left), vice chairman of BAIC Group and executive director of BAIC International, at the launch ceremony for BAIC’s first dealership in Mexico last monthChinese carmaker BAIC Motor has sold its first exported car in Mexico and revealed plans to build an assembly plant in the ...
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ABP boss calls for 'bold' ports policy after Brexit vote
The UK government needs to respond with a “bold, ambitious and visionary” ports policy in the wake of the country’s vote to leave the European Union (EU), the nation’s biggest port operator has warned.Speaking to members of Parliament last week, ABP chief executive James Cooper said the government must now ...
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FeatureFord Mexico part 1: A landmark investment gradually coming into focus
Aiming to double its engine and transmission capacity by 2018 and with ground to be broken on a $1.6 billion assembly plant, Ford Mexico is counting on a localised supply chain, closer logistics and reduced currency exposure to smooth its explosive growth plan By the second half of this year, ...
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FeatureRussian car exports to Ukraine pick up
Despite continuing geopolitical tensions between the two countries, car exports from Russia to Ukraine have shown signs of improvement for the first time in three years, according to the latest statistics from the Association of Ukrainian Motor Vehicles Manufacturers (UkrAutoprom).Russian vehicle exports to Ukraine fell 57% last year compared to ...
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Russia conference: The long road to recovery
For the past several years, Russia’s economy and automotive industry have been facing a 'perfect storm'. Practically everything that could happen to hurt the sector and its consumers has done so, whether it be the decrease in energy prices (upon which the Russian economy is highly dependent), a significant currency ...
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Faltering government exacerbates uncertainty in UK auto industry
[Updated July 5th] The UK government is dithering in the political direction it will take following last week’s controversial vote to leave the European Union. That dithering is doing nothing to alleviate the uncertainty that has spread across the country’s automotive sector, from the OEMs and suppliers to the transport ...
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FeatureMercedes-Benz USA: ‘One way or another, we always get the job done’
Rory Hepner, general manager of vehicle logistics and distribution at Mercedes-Benz USA, reveals the premium carmaker’s measures to cope with growing volumes through plant yards, ports and across the transport network, despite limited physical expansion – whether by ‘valet’ services for truckers or working more carefully with plants and logistics ...
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A mix of caution and commitment: carmakers react to UK Brexit result
[Updated 16:40 GMT] The UK voted to withdraw from the European Union on Thursday (June 23rd) following a referendum result in which 52% of those that voted supported the Brexit campaign. The result is bound to have long-term consequences for the car sector.What those consequences are is hard to gauge ...
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FeatureBrexit shockwaves go through the supply chain
For the automotive logistics sector, there was a cruel but telling irony in where the strength of the British vote to leave the EU on June 23rd first emerged. Around midnight, in one of the first areas to announce its results, the north-east city of Sunderland revealed that 61% of ...
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EU Referendum: crunch time for the car sector
On Thursday (June 23rd) this week the UK will vote on whether it is staying in the European Union (EU) or not. As the clock ticks down on the deadline, more carmakers have been voicing their concerns about what an exit could mean for their businesses and for the automotive ...
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FVL North America conference: Beyond the year of the fat cow
All seven annual Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conferences have taken place during periods of recovery and growth for the industry. At the latest event, many thought sales were at their peak, and warned that OEMs and providers would need to be efficient even as the market changes. Marcus Williams ...
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FeatureBrazil says JAC out of Inovar-Auto but carmaker moves ahead with plans
[Update June 15] The Brazilian Ministry of Industry, Overseas Trade and Services (MDIC) has revoked the licence it earlier awarded to JAC Motors, which had allowed it to become part of the country’s vehicle technology and supply chain incentive scheme, Inovar-Auto (Incentive Programme for Innovation and Optimisation of the Chain ...
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FeatureFVL North America conference: Beyond the year of the fat cow
All seven annual Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conferences have taken place during periods of recovery and growth for the industry. At the latest event, many thought sales were at their peak, and warned that OEMs and providers would need to be efficient even as the market changes. Marcus Williams ...
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FeatureFVL North America conference: Logistics benefits could counter the coming rise in Mexican wages
Wages in Mexico are going to be forced upwards as a shortage of skilled workers is exacerbated by a 51% increase in vehicle production by 2022, delegates at this week's Finished Vehicle Logistics North America conference in California were told.North America as a whole is set to enjoy another bumper ...