Car Manufacturer News

Honda Motor Europe Logistics in Ghent intends to deploy barges for the transport of its parts and final products. Honda began transporting containers from the port of Antwerp to North Sea Port via inland shipping.By doing so, the car manufacturer is investing in ‘green’ transport. North Sea Port encourages businesses to invest in sustainability wherever possible. The modal shift – a focus on less transport by road and more transport via inland shipping, rail or pipelines – is a vital aspect of these efforts.At least 1,420 containers arriving from countries such as Japan, Thailand, the USA, Mexico and China reach their final destination in North Sea Port via inland shipping each year.

SSPC (The Society for Protective Coatings) named Mark Schultz, Government Marine Project Development Manager for Sherwin-Williams Protective & Marine Coatings, winner of the 2018-2019 John D. Keane Award of Merit. The award recognizes Schultz’s 25 years of significant contributions to the development of the protective coatings industry and to SSPC.Schultz was recognized with the award February 11, 2019, at the SSPC Coatings+ Conference in Orlando, Florida.Schultz, an SSPC Protective…

Japanese car manufacturer Toyota Motor Corporation is turning to LNG-powered ships to transport its cars across the globe, according to a report from Japanese daily Nikkei. The company has backed an investment in up to 20 LNG-powered car carriers with the capacity to carry 7,000 vehicles each, as it  is preparing for the environmental regulations that will go into force in 2020. Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK), Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha (K Line) and Toyota’s Toyofuji Shipping are expected to be in the running for the contract, which is estimated to be approximately $1.83 billion. A specific timeline for the orders was not given, as the move is believed to be still in its initial stage.

Key export chains in Spain could face major disruption if a long-running dispute between the government and the country's dock workers extends beyond a planned three-day strike next week, industry sources warned on Thursday. The standstill will take place every other hour on Feb. 20, 22 and 24 at dozens of Spanish ports which employ more than 6,000 stevedores and handle an estimated 500 million tonnes of merchandise a year. "The strike action could cause a lot of problems, not only for the ports but also for the companies," said an administrative source at the busy Mediterranean port of Valencia, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Spain's export sector is worth more than 330 billion euros ($352 billion) a year, or about a third of economic output.

Starting in July, the Port of Gothenburg will be the new port of entry for Mazda cars imported into Sweden. All cars destined for the Swedish market will now reach their owners via the largest port in Scandinavia. "This is tangible confirmation of the excellent collaboration between all those operating in the automotive sector at the Port of Gothenburg. By joining forces we have succeeded in linking yet another highly respected car manufacturer to the port, which is extremely positive," said Claes Sundmark, Vice President, Container, RoRo and Rail at the Port of Gothenburg. The majority of Mazda cars are produced in Japan. The frequent departures from Japan that the Port of Gothenburg was able to offer proved pivotal when Mazda chose its new port of entry for the Swedish market.

APM Terminals Pipavav welcomed the IDM Symex, which arrived with a cargo of 800 Hyundai cars loaded at the Port of Chennai on February 5th, in a pioneering use of economical and environmentally-friendly coastal transportation of Indian-manufactured automobiles. APM Terminals Pipavav, part of the APM Terminals Global Terminal Network, commenced export Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) services in August 2015, after NYK Auto Logistics India (NALI) invested in a state of the art stock yard and PDI [pre delivery inspection] facilities. The new cars destined for Western India dealerships originated at Hyundai Motor India Limited’s (HMIL) automotive manufacturing facility near Chennai, in Tamil Nadu State.

The future of EU–China relations, the country’s investment in Europe as well as sustainable growth and environmental protection in the Chinese economy were just some of the topics on the agenda at the 6th Hamburg Summit last weekend. To foster new relationships and honor key players for their efforts in European–Chinese cooperation, classification society DNV GL hosted a dinner in its global maritime headquarters in Hamburg. “We are committed to China and will continue to strengthen this commitment in the future. Our vision is to have a global impact for a safe and sustainable future.

According to the reports, a container vessel APL Panama, stranded since Christmas Day off an Ensenada beach, now has its own jetty. Salvors commissioned the 500-ft. rock-and-sand ramp and hired a giant crane to carry containers ashore. The operation is the latest in a series of attempts to lighten the ship's load and get it floating again. Weighed down by cargo and pinned in by sand, the 880-ft. The ship was on a trans-Pacific route, and its cargo included electronic components for Baja California manufacturing plants as well as parts for car factories in central Mexico. The delay in delivery prompted Nissan, the Japanese car manufacturer, to stop producing vehicles for three days last week at its Aguascalientes facility.