Shipping and Ports – Page 31
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FeatureGefco: Full of get up and go
French transport and logistics provider Gefco started 2018 with an announcement in Paris that it was looking to cooperate more closely with its partners and customers. At the same time, the company said it was looking for international growth and new business as it continued to move beyond the traditional ...
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FeatureRussia: Recovery still down the road
Sales of finished vehicles in Russia rose 11.9% in 2017 over the previous year to reach 1.59m units, according to estimates in early January by the Association of European Businesses (AEB). Russia’s long-awaited recovery began in March and gained momentum throughout the year, peaking in December with monthly sales of ...
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FeatureAudi México: Risk and reward
When Audi opened its assembly plant in Mexico in September 2016, it was a milestone achievement on a number of levels. It was the first factory the German carmaker had set up outside Europe and the first that it was exclusively managing overseas (the two factories in China are joint ...
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Grimaldi añade seis naves híbridas a su flota
Shipper Grimaldi Group adquirirá seis naves ro-ro híbridas para aumentar y modernizar su flota. El pedido valorado en $400m ha sido adjudicado astillero chino Jinling.La entrega de las naves está prevista para comenzar en 2020, y tendrán capacidad para transportar 7,800 metros lineales de unidades rodantes, el equivalente a 500 ...
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FeatureGrimaldi adds six hybrids to its fleet
Shipper Grimaldi Group is to add six hybrid ro-ro vessels to enlarge and modernise its fleet. The order, valued at more than $400m, has been awarded to Chinese shipbuilder Jinling.The vessels, delivery of which is expected to start in 2020, will be able to transport more than 7,800 linear metres ...
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FeatureTrusting the market will stay afloat
European vehicle-handling ports saw growth in vehicle vehicle volumes in 2017, however geo-political worries – not least Brexit – is causing concerns. Ports continue to invest but there are worries over future volumes and capacity levels.
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FeatureDFDS takes over Turkish ocean forwarder U.N. Ro-Ro
Danish shipping and logistics group DFDS has bought a majority 99% stake in U.N. Ro-Ro, Turkey's largest operator of ocean-going ro-ro freight vessels for €950m ($1.2 billion). U.N Ro-Ro was previously owned by Turkish private equity companies Actera and Esas.DFDS said the purchase would make it a major player in ...
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FeatureNavigating uncharted waters
At 04.00 on June 26 last year, Jim Hagemann Snabe, chairman of AP Moller-Maersk, was woken by a phone call from his office. That’s when he learned that the global shipping giant had fallen victim to a cyber-attack. Over the next few hours, the true severity of the incident became ...
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FeatureSSA Marine expands vehicle processing in Mexico and Canada
Marine and rail terminal company SSA Marine has completed the first phase of development at its Special Automobile Terminal in Lázaro Cárdenas port in Mexico. It has also announced new business for finished vehicle handling on Vancouver Island on the west coast of Canada, which is due to start in ...
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FeatureFinalists for Automotive Logistics Awards – Europe 2018 revealed
The shortlist of finalists for the inaugural Automotive Logistics Awards – Europe has been revealed, with 73 entries competing in 14 different categories. The shortlist forms a cross-section of the industry’s leading carmakers, suppliers and logistics providers (see the full list of finalists here).The finalists were chosen from a large ...
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- 马士基航运公司要求行业广泛推行无纸化平台
全球运输公司 — 马士基航运公司与IBM合作，在合资公司项目中广泛实行无纸化平台，目的是为了提高买卖交易的速度。“北美贸易报告”最近刚刚报告，马士基航运公司认为该系统将会提高对客户的透明度，最终能节省数亿美元。 面对美国贸易进出口之间不断加深的缺口，供应链中的每一方，包括制造商、物流供应商及基础设施开发商都需要聚在一起商量，投资，促进出口。公司称，包括汽车业在内的所有人都在寻求最佳途径，比如建立联合行业标准，使用最新数字技术等。 据马士基报告称，由于今年高工资、低就业率及GDP稍有增长等因素的推动，2018年的美国市场将增长3-5%。去年，市场增长了6.8%。马士基报告称，在线零售增长成为影响商品需求的主要因素，因而上游供应链在上市速度和可靠性方面承受不少压力，而且还有可视性和控制等其他因素。 但与此同时马士基发现，美国与其他地区的贸易不平衡，尤其是亚洲，导致每两个向美国的进口国中，就有一个是出口空缺。这种不平衡会在今年越演欲裂。对马士基这样规模的公司而言，这意味着要出口很多空集装箱。 马士基航运北美公司贸易与市场部长Christian Pedersen说，“作为一家航运公司，我们认为自己并没有处于运输环境中，而愿意成为贸易开发的一部分。” 通过全球标准平衡贸易公司称，关键就在于立法和商业投资规划，从而促进出口和贸易分歧再平衡。这反过来需要供应链各方更强烈的意愿，为了更加平衡的贸易利益努力。 Pedersen对Automotive Logistics说，“供应链中的公司已经团结一致，开发和创造投资，促进全球贸易和出口。这就需要所有的公司逆流而上，投资生产厂，与码头经营商、铁路经营上和需要投资公司和其他基础设施的政府密切合作。” Pedersen说，这就是马士基与IBM合作的原因。 “如果你真想大范围改变供应链，提高效率，那就需要一个汗液方案，而不是供应链里某一个公司的方案。”他还说，与IBM的合作是建立在创造一个公开平台的基础上，供应链里所有供应商都能参与，建立一种能够改进效率的中间平台。 这在海洋运输业内是有先例的。马士基是参与不定期运输到固定班轮运输举措的首批海运服务供应商之一。今年是马士基建立固定班轮运输服务90周年；第一个业务就是为福特公司在美国和日本之间运输汽车零部件。 Pedersen说，“从不定期运输到固定班轮转变的意义在于其独有性，行业开始改变，基础设施也跟着调整。客户能够每周一次固定出航。” 采用航运集装箱是另一个创新举措，他说这需要整个行业都采用，才能真正提高效率。如果只有一个公司使用，那么全球的起始港口和码头不需要投资，也无法得到好处，而这将成为全球贸易标准化的途径。 马士基航线进行了很多实验，包括与物流供应商Agility合作调查中间标准化行业平台。公司正在研究如何提供临时可视性，不仅是在海洋，还有陆地上。 墨西哥海湾机遇据马士基公司称，地区出口贸易潜力开发有两个非常好的实例。两个都是在美国墨西哥海岸地区。页岩气出口是一个积极贸易来源，另一个是旧车部门。美国是全球二手车最大出口国，而马士基是海洋集装箱整车最大运输商。Pedersen预测，墨西哥湾地区港口存储中心有大约500,000辆二手车，并且表示二手车出口还有增长的空间。 这种趋势因为Harvey飓风的破坏而得到增强，去年对市场产生了巨大影响。虽然销账和保险索赔可能会推动新车销量增长，正如PwC分析公司在去年全球汽车物流会议上指出的那样，但是这些只有少许损坏的汽车非常适合在其他市场再行销。 Pedersen说，“很多这样的车出售很容易，在其他市场广泛使用，包括非洲、中东和印度。”迪拜阿里山港口可能会吸引大量的二手车，因为那里有一个全球二手车拍卖中心。东南亚也是二手车出口重点市场。 为了充分探索集装箱汽车出口的潜力，目前困扰二手车出口手续问题需要解决。这个地区对车辆处理的难度由于二手市场遭受飓风袭击而加剧，而且等待时间也加长了。 Pedersen: Global reach and global scale are key Pedersen说，“决定保险公司决策，以及如何回应一年全国个别紧急事件，这些都需要时间解决。” Pedersen说，作为服务供应商，以及二手车出口供应链合作商，马士基吸收流程中所产的影响对客户来说非常重要，所能做的就是采用数字工具。他说，二手车的清关和文书程序都是一些特殊要求，而且出口商还需要时将这些车运到港口。 Pedersen说，“我们发现我们的作用就是在与合作商完成程序中充当专家，为他们提供方案。而且，因为我们拥有海洋运输商及码头经营商的优势，我们可以很好地研究如何为二手车出口商设计方案。” 据Pedersen称，只需要预定一个出口集装箱，就跟在线购买运动鞋一样或披萨一样简单。信息流需要答复简化，而且Pedersen说就是物流加工信息流一端，技术和数字得以在行业和供应链中转化，成为促进全球贸易发展的关键。 对汽车业而言，马士基并没有限制二手车出口。汽车集装箱运输不断增长，而Pedersen称马士基想为客户提供一站式服务，包括装配厂的全散件装备运输，以及流程末端整车再出口。 Pedersen说，“这是否适用于新车，全球供应链是否已经准备好，或者二手车是否需要进入新兴市场玩过，关键因素是全球范围。全球无死角大范围的网络，以及建立地方机构，是这些领域真正极为需要的东西。”
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FeatureBMW Brilliance opens VDC at Ningbo
BMW’s joint venture with Brilliance Automobile in China, BMW Brilliance Automobile (BBA), has opened a vehicle distribution centre (VDC) at the Meishin (Meixi) ro-ro terminal in Ningbo-Zhoushan port, the world’s busiest port in terms of cargo tonnage.The facility, which BBA refers to as a decentralised distribution area (DDA), is being ...
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FeatureWork begins in China on LNG vessels for VW
The Xiamen shipyard in China has begun work on the first of two pure car and truck carriers (PCTCs) for Volkswagen Group Logistics, which will be operated under charter by Siem Car Carriers and will run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).The vessels will be in service by 2019, moving vehicles ...
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FeatureWWL restructures to meet changes in car market
Finished vehicle services provider, Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics (WWL), has been restructured into two divisions. Wallenius Wilhelmsen Ocean (WW Ocean) will focus on the movement of vehicles and rolling stock by sea and will operate alongside a separate land-based logistics entity named Wallenius Wilhelmsen Solutions (WW Solutions).“The new branding reflects the ...
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FeatureGM looks to expand volumes at Rosario
General Motors (GM) is working on plans to increase imports and exports of cars through the port of Rosario in Santa Fe, Argentina, following a successful trial late last year.During the trial, the carmaker imported 1,162 Chevrolets, comprising Onix, its sedan variant, and Prisma from Brazil, as well as the ...
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FeatureEC fines shippers and parts suppliers for price-fixing
The European Commission has issued fines for price-fixing totalling €546m ($668.7m) to a group of four shipping companies handling finished vehicles and, in three further cases, three tier suppliers of spark plugs and braking systems.Four of the major providers of ocean services to the automotive and commercial machinery sectors were ...
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FeatureEML launches new Iberia Express service
Short-sea operator Euro Marine Logistics (EML), has launched a new weekly Iberia Express ro-ro service connecting vehicle ports in the UK, Belgium, Spain and Portugal.On the southbound leg, services start from the UK’s port of Tyne, calling at Zeebrugge (Belgium), Santander (Spain) and Barcelona (Spain). Northbound, vessels leaving from Barcelona ...
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FeatureBMW Spartanburg remains top US car exporter
BMW’s Spartanburg vehicle assembly plant in South Carolina remained the largest US automotive exporter by value last year, even though production there decreased.The factory turned out more than 371,280 cars during the year, 9.7% fewer than in 2016 because the X5/X6 assembly hall was shut down for four weeks during ...
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FeatureBMW extends contract at Cuxport
BMW has extended its contract with Rhenus Worldwide at the northern German port of Cuxport for the processing of finished vehicles destined for export to the UK and Scandinavia.The vehicles are made at the premium carmaker’s plants in eastern and southern Germany, as well as in Austria under contract with ...
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FeaturePiraeus defends sharp rise in rates
Piraeus Port Authority (PPA) has defended its recent decision to increase vehicle handling charges, pointing out that it had not previously done so for a decade and that the rise would not apply to 75% of traffic passing through the Greek port.A spokesperson for the port authority confirmed to Automotive ...