Logistics is finally being recognised as a decisive competitive tool by the automotive industry, but this is unlikely to help logistics operators, despite major opportunities in developing markets. This is one of the main conclusions of Transport Intelligence’s new Global Automotive Logistics report.

The report describes how all the vehicle manufacturers are getting a tighter grip on the logistics across their supply chain. They are responding to increasingly savage competition with emphasis not only on costs but also with exacting standards of customer service. The vehicle manufacturers are also faced with developing systems capable of supporting assembly operations across the globe in regions new to car production.

This might sound like a big opportunity for logistics service providers and indeed some companies such as car-carrying shipping operators will benefit. However, in the traditional areas of production - North America, Europe and Japan - growth will be meagre at between 2-3%. The pressure to cut costs will not relent.

In contrast the new production locations such as China or Russia offer huge opportunities with growth rates so high they are difficult to measure, but operations here are difficult to establish. A company such as CEVA’s Anji-TNT in China is in an excellent position in the long term.

The report describes a huge, sophisticated and complex segment of the logistics business, in part characterised by slow growth and meagre profits, in others by explosive opportunities and uncertain realities.

Senior Analyst Thomas Cullen commented, ‘Vehicle manufacturers are still sceptical about outsourcing all but the simplest of management tasks, yet remain just as enthusiastic about cost cutting. For logistics service providers dealing with the big car makers the market will remain exceptionally difficult despite the opportunities that exist in the developing markets.’

Global Automotive Logistics 2007 is packed full of qualitative analysis and quantitative data which will give you an all-round understanding of the market. It examines the significant trends which are affecting the demand-side of the industry and how these impact the key logistics sectors associated with it. It includes market sizing, broken down into inbound, spare parts and finished vehicle segments for the North American, European and Japanese markets as well indicative growth forecasts. In addition it has detailed profiles of the main Vehicle Manufacturers and Logistics Service Providers containing analysis of their strategies and operations.

Source: Transport Intelligence

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