Addressing today’s pinch points in supply chains has become key to ensuring North America’s points of entry and exit can support tomorrow’s finished vehicle flows BALTIMORE - North America’s finished vehicle import-export market remains buoyant, with ports in Mexico, Canada and the US all benefitting from booming automotive flows. But this very market buoyancy has been stretching ports’ eco-systems as they struggle to accommodate high vehicle throughputs – in many cases without the benefit of the most up-to-date yard management and communication systems. Often, the result is inefficiency and delay. Dealing with this has become a pressing problem for North America’s ports and its finished vehicle logistics sector. There are many strands to solving the issue, however. They range from better network planning to smooth out the flow of vehicles and distribute them across a wider spread of ports to fresh investment by the ports themselves in upgrading their yards and vehicle management capabilities. Perhaps the biggest area of potential, however, lies in the use of new technology to streamline logistics processes and enable better communication. And nowhere is this more important than in the interface and information flow between ports and other parties in the supply chain. As Charles Franklin, manager of export logistics at American Honda, noted recently: “All of the OEMs have cars somewhere, and we all need to move them – but there is no unified information database saying who is moving cars when and where.” Addressing these issues will be at the heart of discussions at this year’s Finished Vehicle Logistics Import Export summit, where leading OEMs, service providers, infrastructure operators and technology solutions suppliers will all come together to debate the best way forward. Key issues to be addressed at this important summit include:
  • Where the vehicle import-export market is heading next
  • What the main challenges are in trying to develop more efficient vehicle flows
  • Which technology innovations will be the ones to drive change – and how soon
  • How traditional port eco-systems will evolve as a result
Finished Vehicle Logistics Import Export takes place at the Marriott Inner Harbor at Camden Yards, Baltimore, on August 9th and will provide insight and analysis on these points from some of the North American finished vehicle logistics sector’s leading figures, as they consider the state of today’s import-export networks and outline how they would like to see them position themselves for the challenges and opportunities ahead. Now in its fourth year, the Finished Vehicle Logistics Import-Export summit is a well-established and highly popular forum for all the leading players in the North American vehicle import-export sector. “A great opportunity to gain insight on industry issues,” commented Patrick Foran, Operations Support at Hyundai Glovis, after last year’s event. “Real-world ideas and information from industry professionals actually making it happen,” agreed Brett Dixon, National Operations Manager at Maserati. “Well worth attendance and participation; good mix of OEMs and logistics providers,” added Clifford Pyron, Chief Commercial Officer at Georgia Ports Authority. In addition to all the intelligence and insight on offer, the summit will also provide an excellent opportunity for some high-level networking as all the top players in the sector rub shoulders throughout the event – including at the coffee and lunch breaks and the post-event drinks reception. Supported by premier sponsor Port of Baltimore, global sponsor Changjiu Logistics/CDC, and silver sponsor ProAct International, the Finished Vehicle Logistics Import Export summit is expected to attract all the leading players in the North American vehicle import-export industry this August.