Automotive

Japanese Smart Factory Represents the Future of Manufacturing

July 26, 2017

The top manufacturing facility of Toyota transmissions isn't based in Japan but in Durham, North Carolina. The AW North Carolina (AWNC) plant - a subsidiary of AW, which is based in Anjo City, Japan - churns out more than 600,000 automatic transmissions per year for models such as the Camry, Tundra, Tacoma, Sequoia and, most recently, the Rav4.

Border Tax and Nafta Exit Could Harm U.S. Motor Vehicle Industry, Study Finds

July 26, 2017

Boston Consulting Group

Two proposed policy changes - imposing a border adjustment tax (BAT) and withdrawing from the North American Free Trade Agreement (Nafta) - would likely fail to achieve their goal of reversing the trend of offshoring manufacturing to low-cost countries and could potentially harm the U.S. motor vehicle industry, according to a new study by The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Global Trade Rebounds Despite Trump's Protectionist Threats

July 14, 2017

Bloomberg

Donald Trump's election as U.S president sparked warnings of damaging trade wars and an end to globalization as we know it. So far, those predictions haven't played out.

What's Going to Happen to Nafta?

July 14, 2017

Robert J. Bowman, SupplyChainBrain

The Northern American Free Trade Agreement is 25 years old, but whether it lives to see another year is an open question.

Volvo Plans to Go Electric, to Abandon Conventional Car Engine by 2019

July 10, 2017

The Wall Street Jorunal

For Volvo the internal combustion engine has run its course.

Inside HP's 3-D Shift to Additive Manufacturing

July 5, 2017

Industryweek

New products, new industries, new leadership and, of course, new companies. Yeah, these last two years have been unlike any in the nearly-eight-decade history of the tech leader formerly known as Hewlett-Packard.

Trump's Nafta Victory Rides on Big Changes to How Cars Are Built

July 5, 2017

Bloomberg

To President Donald Trump, America's $500bn trade deficit is a symbol of economic weakness. If he wants a revamped North American Free Trade Agreement to shrink that number, he'll need a seismic shift in how cars are made on the continent.

Transport Sector Primed for the Growth of Electric Vehicles

June 30, 2017

Environmental Leader

When it comes to reducing the greenhouse gas emissions, the electricity sector gets much of the attention, considering that it is responsible for 29 percent of those releases. But the transportation sector makes up 26 percent of them. If that is going to change, the electric car will have to make significant inroads.

Roiled by Airbag-Recall Crisis, Takata Files for Bankruptcy

June 29, 2017

Industryweek

Takata Corp. filed for bankruptcy protection in the biggest postwar Japanese corporate failure in the manufacturing industry, as the 84-year-old company buckled under liabilities from millions of recalled air bags and agreed to be sold to a Chinese-backed investor.

Most-American Car Ranking Changes Criteria After Only Three Qualify

June 29, 2017

Bloomberg

Think "American-made" doesn't mean what it used to? You're right, at least if you're talking about how to define the world's "Most-American" vehicles.

Automotive

The latest supply-chain news, analysis, trends and tools for executives in the automotive industry — which consists of companies that produce automobiles, utility vehicles, motorcycles, all-terrain vehicles and heavy trucks. Learn how automotive companies and their suppliers around the world are managing the flow of products across all channels of the enterprise. Experts sound off on forecasting and demand planning, supply-chain visibility, logistics outsourcing, inventory optimization, transportation management, warehouse management, supply-chain security, corporate social responsibility and more.