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ECG appoints the Friends of the Earth (Italy) to produce a CO2 Footprint Standard

The new “Common Efficiency Improvement Program” launched at the 11th ECG Conference

Brussels, 8 October 2007 - ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics has made a major step forward towards the definition of a reliable CO2 Footprint Standard to measure the CO2 emissions of vehicle logistics. ECG has in fact commissioned Friends of the Earth (Italy), a leading Environmental Association with a particular expertise in transport, to study The External Costs of Logistics of Vehicles, Uniform European Values to Measure the Company’s Environmental Performance. The news emerged at the 11th ECG Automotive Logistics Conference, held in Istanbul on October 5 and attended by a record number of 260 delegates.

The FoE(Italy) study will be completed in six months and it is to provide a set of reference data allowing the measurement of the External Cost of Transport for new vehicles (that includes the indirect cost not bearing by logistics operators and falling onto the wider public: CO2 emission, Air Pollution, Noise, Congestion, Accidents). In particular the study will provide a Standard to measure CO2 emissions per each kilometre and per single car transported by Road, Railways or Sea.

“ECG is making a substantial effort in promoting this study that will set a Standard to measure CO2 Footprint throughout the Automotive Logistics industry – noted Frits Mehrtens, president of ECG -. And we are delighted that FoE (Italy) accepted to develop it: they are a third party independent organisation with a strong track record of studies made for the European Commission as well as for the Italian Ministries of Transport and of Environment”

Mr Mehrtens continues: “The CO2 Standard will allow Logistics Service providers to better manage their Environmental Management System while allowing a reliable Environmental reporting that takes in account the CO2 footprint of each car transported per each kilometre.”

The study will also highlight many of the inefficiencies affecting the distribution of cars and commercial vehicles and hopefully to cut the huge number of kilometres that Car Transporters run empty. The necessity to stop inefficiencies was the other major subject of the 11th ECG Conference, during which the Association launched the “Common Efficiency Improvement Program”, a platform for the industry as a whole – including Logistics Service Providers and Car Manufacturers – to face and fix the substantial inefficiencies affecting automotive logistics.

“We have been working with the focus on Efficiency improvement for more than a year now – stressed Mr Mehrtens – and we are now glad to present the first real achievement of the cooperation on operational issues between LSP and Car Manufacturers under the ECG umbrella: it is the ECG Operations Quality Manual. This has been developed with the contribution, and recognised by most of the major Car Manufacturers - BMW, Ford, GM, Mercedes-Benz, Mitsubishi, Seat and Volvo – we look forward for others to joint. This first step is being followed by other actions: together with Car Manufacturers, ECG is now working to create a single Damage Reporting and on Volume prediction while in the pipeline there is a Common Data Platform. Last but not least, there is the CO2 Footprint Standard we have presented today.”

For further information, please contact:
Mark Morgan, ECG Executive Director,
Mark.Morgan@eurocartrans.org
Tel: +322706 8282

ECG Academy: 23 young managers achieve Certified Automobile Logistician degree

Brussels, 17 September 2007 - 23 young managers from 10 countries were awarded the degree of “Certified Automobile Logistician” on completion of the first course of the ECG Automotive Logistics Academy, the Europe’s only postgraduate management education and training institute with a focus on transport, logistics and supply chain of Finished Vehicles. The Second course of the ECG Automotive Logistics Academy is due to start on October 11, 2007.

The ECG Academy graduation ceremony was held last Friday, September 14, at the Kloster Eberbach, in Wiesbaden, Germany. The Certificates were presented to the students by the ECG President, Frits Mehrtens and by the European Business School vice Dean, Executive Education, Professor Dr. Ulrich Grimm.

The ECG Academy has been created by ECG - the Association of European Vehicle Logistics - in partnership with the Supply Management Institute (SMI) of the European Business School (EBS) and the German Logistics Academy (DLA). The 11-month course has been designed for young managers employed throughout the Automotive industry, ranging from Logistics Operators to Car Manufacturers, Importers and Suppliers -. It supports the whole automotive industry by offering a high profile instrument to tackle the scarcity of skilled resources affecting the industry.

The Course includes seven 3-days residential modules held both at the EBS Campus in Oestrich-Winkel, Germany, and in various locations around Europe as they include working visits at Vehicle Manufacturer Plants, Supplier Plants and ECG Members’ facilities. In order to obtain the degree, students are requested to pass a final exam, including written and oral tests. The best grades of the first course of the ECG Academy were obtained by Mr. Markus Gichert, from Daimler (Germany), second was Mr. Geert Rossaert from Mazda (Belgium), from Mazda and by Mr Simon Bosch from Mosolf (Germany).

The course had a truly international attendance as the 23 new Automobile Logistician are from Germany (6), Spain (4), Austria (3), Italy (3), France (2), Belgium, Holland, Ireland, Lithuania and Turkey (one from each country). They work for Logistics Service Providers, specialising in road, sea, rail transport, port operations, terminal handling, and value adding activities as well as for Vehicle Manufacturers (including Daimler, Volkswagen and Mazda) and Suppliers like Rolfo.

“I’d like to congratulate with all the young colleagues who have attended the course – said the ECG president, Frits Mehrtens -, I know it hasn’t been easy to go through an 11-months, tough course like this but I’m extremely pleased by their positive achievements, by their enthusiasm and by their attitude to develop solutions to complex issues. I’m pleased to announce that 20 more young managers registered for the Second Course that is due to start in October”

“The demands on the employees in the companies have strongly increased over the past years due to the increasing complexity and requirements of daily work - said Dr. Josef Decker, the Course Dean -. In order to work in international networks in well known as well as new markets, the ECG Academy provides the participants with practice-oriented thinking as well as a good theoretical background.”

In his speech Mr Mehrtens also said: “Vehicle logistics is a difficult business that still has enormous possibilities to gain in efficiency through professionalism and better understanding between Service Providers, Car Manufacturers and Suppliers. By training young professionals throughout the industry ECG Academy is indeed a fantastic basis for the different players to better understand each other, The Academy is a cornerstone of ECG’s effort in promoting co-operation, professionalism and quality amongst all the Automotive players. It is a school created by the industry for the industry.”

For further information, please contact:
Mark Morgan, ECG Executive Director,
Mark.Morgan@eurocartrans.org
Tel: +322706 8282

Frits Mehrtens, the President of ECG, The Association of European Vehicle Logistics, has labelled as “not realistic” the content of the study ‘Mega Trucks versus Rail Freight?’ presented last week in Brussels by six associations of rail operators.

“That study distorts the reality – said Mr Mehrtens - as it suggests that the adoption of the so called Ecocombies, or Mega Trucks, would nearly be a criminal gesture. It’s a shame that when talking about trucks whose maximum length is 25.25 metres, the study includes pictures of trucks longer than 50 metres, that are used in Australia and whose introduction in Europe has never been on any agenda”.

“ECG has nothing against rail freight transport, on the contrary – he added -. In fact ECG members do operate more than 16,000 rail wagons, but the “Mega Trucks versus Rail Freight study?” does manipulate the facts”.

Ecocombies, or “Monster Trucks” as they are labelled in the study whose aim is to lobby the European Commission, are 25.25 metres long and are commonly used in Sweden and Finland. Their introduction is being considered in Germany, they are being tested in the Netherlands.

The study suggests that the adoption of Ecocombies would result in a modal shift, worsening road congestion. It also maintains that heavier trucks would imply a higher use of the infrastructures and therefore the need of higher infrastructure investments. Also the level of safety on the roads would worsen, according to the study.

“None of these statements are true nor can be proven - explained Mr Mehrtens - Let’s see why:

Congestion and Modal Shift: Ecocombies will not have any effect on road congestion nor will they imply any modal shift. In fact everywhere in Europe the real problem is the dramatic shortage of truck drivers. Number of drivers is on a constant decrease and recently, this shortage has been worsened by the adoption of the European Working Time Directive. There could not be any modal shift to the detriment of the rail because there are not enough drivers even to drive the existing number of trucks. If Ecocombies are introduced, there will not be more trucks on the roads, rather on the contrary. Furthermore, their introduction would just help to maintain the existing level of freight transported by road. This is a necessity in order to avoid a slowdown of the European Economy.

Investments in infrastructures: Tests carried out in many countries show that Ecocombies have not got any negative impact on the roads. Despite a higher payload, Ecocombies are equipped with more axles and therefore their weight per axle is equal or even minor to that of normal trucks. It has to be underlined that in most cases, where the size of goods prevails over the weight, including the automotive industry – fully loaded Ecocombies would not even reach the maximum weight of the trucks currently in use. Ecocombies don’t damage infrastructure.

Road Safety: Where the 25.25 metres long trucks are used, the number of road incidents, where long trucks are involved, is not higher than in countries where the maximum length of trucks is 18.75 metres. Additional, specific training for drivers of Ecocombies can be introduced, as it is the case in the Netherlands.

Environment: The introduction of Ecocombies would cut the consumption of fuel and therefore reduce the level of CO2 emission. Their use would support the European Union’s effort to achieve the CO2 emission target.

For further information, please contact:
Patrycja Kulesza, ECG EU Affairs Officer,
Patrycja.Kulesza@eurocartrans.org
Tel: + 32 2 706 8283

From right to left: the ECG President elected, Mr. Frits Mehrtens, General Manager of Broekman Group (The Netherlands) and the new ECG vicepresident Costantino Baldissara, commercial and logistics Director of Grimaldi Group (Italy)

The 11th General Assembly of ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics, has elected Frits Mehrtens as the new ECG President for the next two years. Mr. Costantino Baldissara is the new the ECG Vice-President.

Mr Mehrtens succeeds Mr Kay H. Ewaldsen, is General Manager of Broekman Group of the Netherlands and had been Vice-President of ECG for the last two years. Mr. Baldissara is Commercial and Logistics Director of Grimaldi Group of Italy; he has been a member of the ECG Board since 2002.

The General Assembly was held in London on Friday, May 4th, and was attended by some 140 delegates who also elected the new ECG board. In addition to Mr Baldissara, it includes: Mr. Arnaud Cauchy, (GEFCO, France); Mr. İlhan Çetinkaya, (İLÇE, Turkey); Mr. Wolfgang Göbel, (Horst Mosolf, Germany); Mr. Alain Leray, (Groupe STVA, France); Mr. Veli-Matti Pärssinen, (John Nurminen Oy, Finland); Mr. Marek Nowicki (P.W. Wega A., Poland), Mr. Joaquin Eulate (Bergé Automotive Logistics); Mr. Jacinto Sequi (Autoterminal Barcelona) This 11th GA was indeed a very special event for ECG that has celebrated its membership record of 86 member companies based in as many as 24 countries ranging geographically from the European coast of the Atlantic Ocean to Russia and Turkey. Over the last two years, ECG has grown its membership basis by about 40. At the same time, the Association has become a common platform for Logistics Service Providers and Vehicle Manufacturers to discuss and co-operate with the aim to create common standards and higher efficiency throughout the industry.

One major recent achievement was the establishment of the ECG Automotive Logistics Academy, that has already proven to be an important tool to train and educate tomorrow’s automotive logistics managers, either from the Logistics Service Providers or from Vehicle manufacturers. Set up in cooperation the European Business School (Ebs), the Supply Management Institute (SMI) and the German Logistics Academy (DLA). Application are opened for the second course due to start in September.

The ECG Annual Assembly was sponsored by Autologic Holdings (Premium Sponsor), Renault Trucks and Lohr Industrie (Main sponsors); Iveco, Michelin; Akzo-Nobel; Transics (Co-sponsors)

For further information, please contact:
Mark Morgan, ECG Executive Director,
Mark.Morgan@eurocartrans.org
Tel: +322706 8282

More than 270 Guest celebrate ECG’s 10th anniversary at Brussels’ Autoworld

More than 270 guests from every sector of the automotive industry as well as the European Commission gathered in Brussels on February 26, to celebrate the 10th birthday of ECG, the Association of European Vehicle Logistics.

In the ten years from its establishment, the Association has grown steadily from the initial 24 members to the current record of 84 members located in 24 different countries of the wider Europe, including Russia and Turkey.

The celebration was held at the exciting venue of the Autoworld, with a walking dinner amongst some of the most beautiful cars ever built. Guests were welcomed by Kay H. Ewaldsen, the ECG President, who noted how the Association has developed to become the “voice of the sector and a platform for cooperation and development”.

“By providing a common platform for all parties involved in vehicle logistics, ECG wants to help the sector to improve its efficiency – a key requirement in these tough times. Such a central role of providing the creative environment for the automakers, logistics service providers and suppliers to better understand each other has been confirmed by the interest in this event which sees the participation of many important players in the automotive industry” he said.

The impact logistics have in the development of the European Union was underlined by Zoltan Kazatsay, Deputy Director General for Energy & Transport at the EU. “Logistics is going to be one of the key actors for Europe’s future – Mr Kazatsay said -. The European Commission has acknowledged this role by promoting the concept of co-modality, which combine the best of each different transport modality. It is important for the Commission to know the sector’s needs and problems; this is why the role of the associations as ECG is important: our doors are opened”.

In the course of the event, golden pins were awarded to the founding fathers of the Association, with the ECG vice president Frits Mehrtens, presenting the pins to Konrad Zwirner and Frank Lehner, who were two of the pioneering members of ECG.

For further information, please contact:
Mark Morgan, ECG Executive Director,
Mark.Morgan@eurocartrans.org
Tel: +322706 8282

Brussels, October 30, 2006 - ECG Automotive Logistics Academy has won the VIII Award for the Best Logistics Initiative 2006 as the Most Innovative European Education and Learning Project. The prestigious award is given every year by El Vigia, the Spanish logistics publication. The Award was received by ECG vice president Frits Mehrtens and board member Andrés Cardenas in the course of a ceremony held on October 26 at the venue of the World Trade Centre, in Barcelona, Spain.

ECG Academy is the first ever management education and training European-wide initiative with a focus on transport, logistics and supply chain management of Finished Vehicles. The Academy is an initiative of ECG, the European Association of Finished Vehicle Logistics in partnership with two German institutions: the Supply Management Institute of the European Business School and the German Logistics Academy (DLA).

“The award to the Most Innovative European Education and Learning Project goes to ECG – said Lidia Loza, the director General of El Vigia, reading the motivation for the prize -, for its contribution in education in a field going through several difficulties, which is needing a new vision regarding transports and logistics flow. As they’ve been the first ones in Europe in the logistics of the finished vehicle, and for making easier the dialogue among the new generation of logistics’ professionals, not only from logistics companies but also automotive manufactures.”

ECG vice president Frits Mehrtens stressed on the ECG Academy concept. “I thank El Vigia for this prestigious Award – he said -. The interest for the Academy shows how much the European Automotive industry needs such kind of superior education tool. The inaugural course of ECG Academy, due to start on November 9 has in fact reached the maximum number allowed of 22 participants, and about 20% of them come from Car Manufacturers. I’m therefore glad to announce here that the second course of ECG Academy will start in May 2007.”

ECG Academy courses are held at the European Business School campus in Oestrich-Winkel (Germany). They comprise a combination of 7 modules organised in 3-day residential sections, distance learning, action plans (i.e. practical application back in work environment). On successful completion, following a final exam an ebs degree as “Certified Automobile Logistician” will be awarded. Courses are opened to managers employed throughout the Automotive industry, ranging from Logistics Operators, Car Manufacturers, Importers and Suppliers

"ECG urges the European Commission to take a prompt action in enforcing its Mid-term review of the 2001 Transport White Paper"

“The persistent lack of infrastructure, the approach of Member States against Biodiesel and the absence of cross border harmonisation are threatening the Economic development in Europe. The Commission should pass from words to facts if it really wants to Keep Europe moving” stressed the ECG President, Kay H. Ewaldsen.

Brussels - July 10, 2006 - The European Car-Transport Group of Interest (ECG) urges the European Commission to take actions in order to transform in reality in the shortest time possible all the guidelines and measures described in the document "Keep Europe moving – Sustainable mobility for our continent", the review of the European Commission’s 2001 Transport White Paper which was released recently.

“The situation of mobility of goods in Europe is so serious that without a prompt and strong action from the European Commission all the efforts the industry is producing to make the logistics chain more efficient, safe and environmentally-friendly would be wasted” underlined Mr Kay H. Ewaldsen, president of ECG.

Indeed ECG is encouraged by Commission’s stated intention to optimize infrastructure by investing in new or improved intelligent infrastructure. But how long will it take to pass from words to facts? And what will be done in the meanwhile?

“The Commission is right when it says that where an increase in infrastructure capacity is not possible, then charging a fee for the use can help to optimize the traffic – stressed Mr Ewaldsen -. However it should be underlined that charging a fee, even the most fair and ‘smart’, cannot be a solution to the infrastructural problem. The only way to improve infrastructure in Europe is to build more of it. This must be done with the maximum urgency as the persistent lack of infrastructures is impacting negatively on the economic growth of Europe”.

By introducing the concept of “co-modality”, that replaces that of ‘modal transfer’, and swiftly moving towards the modern concept of integrated logistics, the European Commission has eventually recognised the best practices that the Industry has been following for some time now. ECG is committed towards sustainable development and therefore supports the idea of improving the performance of each transport mode in terms of its safety, environmental performance and energy efficiency. However it is important to make sure that the right balance between competitiveness and environmental demands is found. In the end, productivity in terms of price, quality and reliability will decide on the utilisation of the various modes.

As part of the challenge, EC should now accelerate in enforcing actions to increase the standardisation and interoperability of transport equipment throughout the EU member states.

Mr Ewaldsen said: “ECG urges the Commission to eliminate one of the last remaining barriers to the creation of a single European market for Finished Vehicle Logistics: the lack of standardization of the maximum dimensions of car transporters”.

“In fact – he stressed - the lack of homogeneity of maximum dimensions in the various EU member states affects the interoperability of the fleets, creates barriers to the competition, increases the cost of transport and ultimately contributes to pressure on the infrastructural system and the environment by increasing the traffic”.

In its framework strategy for freight transport logistics in Europe, the European Commission aims to match the integrated logistics companies’ needs with public polices enabling optimal use and combination of different modes of transport, i.e. actions on standardisation and interoperability. Tackling the Car-Transporters’ Maximum Dimensions problem would indeed show how serious the commitment of European Commission is.

The European Commission should take a stronger action to promote alternative, less polluting fuels as opposed to fossil fuels.

“The Commission – warned the ECG President - should act so that Member States do not destroy the steps already achieved by imposing additional taxes that make Biodiesel not financially convenient anymore for the final users. This is a most recent behaviour of the local government in Germany and it translates the possible death of any future for Biodiesel”.

ECG would like to see a serious policy designed at making alternative fuels a real alternative, with more fiscal incentives and harmonization of alternative fuel taxation at European level. The European Car-Transport Group is ready to assist the European Commission with its experience and knowledge of such specific sector as Finished Vehicle Logistics.

"ECG membership tops 70"

ECG (European Car Transport Group), the Brussels-based association of finished vehicle logistics, has reached its all time record of 70 members. The70th member to join ECG has been Automove of the UK that is the fifth British company to become an ECG member over the last 12 months.

ECG counts members in 24 countries. Last year the members' aggregated turnover was in excess of 11.5 billion Euros while they handled about 43 million cars with over 44,000 direct employees. In terms of equipment, the ECG members do operation 16,000 trucks, 12,000 rail wagons, 166 ships, 32 river barges, 315 coumpounds, 106 port terminals, more than 64 million square meters of Car parks, and about one million square meters of workshops.

Established in 1997 in Brussels, ECG represents more than 2/3rds of the European Finished Vehicles Logistics industry. ECG Members operate in the field of outbound logistics for the Automotive sector, in cluding quality control at the end of the assembly line, storage in special compounds, transport in all modalities - rail, road and sea - de-waxing Pre-Delivery Inspections (PDI), customizing, workshop activities and the refurbishing of former fleet vehicles.

Fur further information do not hesitate to contact Sophie De Beir, ECG Secretary General, +32 2 706 82 82 or sophie.debeir@eurocartrans.org

"ECG launches ECG Logistics Academy, the first postgraduate Academy for finished vehicle logistics Manager in Europe"

At its 10th General Assembly, held on Friday 12 May, in Vilnius, Lithuania, ECG, the European Car-Transport Group, that represents the Automotive Logistics industry (Outbound), has launched ECG Automotive Logistics Academy: an innovative management education and training initiative in the field of the logistics of finished vehicles.

Created in cooperation with three well known partners, the European Business School (Ebs), the Supply Management Institute (SMI) and the German Logistics Academy (DLA), the ECG Academy is aimed at supporting the whole Automotive industry by offering an high profile instrument to tackle the scarcity of skilled resources affecting the industry across Europe.

The ECG Academy is dedicated to managers employed throughout the Automotive industry, ranging from ECG members and partners to OEMs and other customers. Courses have been conceived for managers already working in transport, logistics and supply chain management as well as managers with no previous experience. Particular courses have been designed for beginners too. Thanks at the European-wide networks of the European Business School (Ebs) and Supply Management Institute (SMI), ECG Academy courses will be held at various European Cities.

In introducing the Academy, the president of ECG, Mr Kay Hanns Ewaldsen, said: “The ECG Academy is the only existing school designed to educate finished vehicle logistics managers for the automotive industry. As the sector is currently affected by a serious shortage of vehicle logistics specialists, the Academy is cornerstone of ECG’s effort in promoting co-operation, professionalism and quality amongst all the Automotive players. In the end, it is an educational tool created by ECG for the benefit not only to our members, but of the whole Automotive industry that now has the possibility to educate its managers on finished vehicle logistics”.

“Vehicle logistics is a difficult business indeed – stressed Mr Ewaldsen -. The goods we handle, the cars, have a very high unit value, must be delivered safely, just in time, and with no damages at what is a marginal cost compared their value. Succeeding in such a task requires not only substantial investments in equipment but skilled human resources too. Serious professionals are key to this business and through the ECG Academy, we are taking an active step in creating the skilled resources needed throughout the Automotive industry”

The ECG Academy is due to open up in Autumn 2006 with a postgraduate course opened to 20 managers who already have a background in finished vehicle logistics. The course comprises seven modules plus a final test. On successful completion, a “Certified Automobile Logician” degree will be released by Ebs.

In 2006, ECG membership reached an all time record of 69 companies, from 24 countries. Over the last 12 months, as many as 13 new members have joined ECG, including 4 companies each from the United Kingdom and Turkey.

“We are pleased to experience that, across Europe, Automotive Logistics companies specialising in finished vehicles are recognising more and more the pivotal role of ECG for the sector. As a matter of fact, in terms of aggregated turnover ECG represents now far more than two third of the entire sector in Europe” noted Mr Ewaldsen.

“ECG – he went on - is now strengthening further Brussels’ ECG office where an Executive Director will be appointed to add value to the team headed by the Secretary General. Such a new development is aimed at increasing ECG capacity to develop studies and specific projects while devoting more time and quality to the relations with the European Commission. In addition, my view is that ECG will become more and more a platform to facilitate the cooperation between finished vehicle logistics operators and the OEMs”

Delegates at the 10th ECG General Assembly elected the new ECG board. It includes 9 members who will serve a one-year term, in addition to the ECG President and Vice-President who serve a two-year term. Board members elected in Vilnius are: Costantino Baldissara, Grimaldi Group (Italy); Ulrich Burgath, E.H. Harms Automobile-Logistics (Germany); Andrés Cárdenas, Sintax (Spain); Arnaud Cauchy, GEFCO (France); Ilhan Çetinkaya, ILÇE (Turkey); Wolfgang Göbel, Horst Mosolf GmbH (Germany); John Gregory, AutoLogic Holdings (UK); Alain Leray, Groupe STVA (France); Veli-Matti Pärssinen, John Nurminen Oy (Finland).

Since 2005, ECG President is Kay Hanns Ewaldsen, CEO of Werner Egerland Automobillogistik (Germany) and Vice-President is Frits Mehrtens, General Manager of Broekman Group (Netherlands).

After the election of the new board, Mr Ewaldsen paid a tribute to Mr Franz Blum, of Vega (Austria) who stepped down after having served as an ECG Board member for 5 years. “I wish to thank Franz for the active support he contributed in developing ECG and making it a real platform for confrontation amongst the different components of the Automotive industry” he said.

The ECG Annual Assembly was sponsored by Iveco (Premium Sponsor), Rolfo and Lohr

(10-10-2005) European Automotive Logistics Operators are to invest more than 5 billion Euros by 2010 in new Trucks, Rail Wagons, Ships,Compounds and Information Technology systems. The impressing figure emerged at the “Automotive Logistics 2010” Conference, organised by ECG, the European Association of Automotive Logistics Operators, in Barcelona, Spain on 7 October, 2005.

Attended by about 200 delegates, including some of the main European Carmakers and all the major Logistics Operators of the Continent, the Conference was opened with a speech by Mrs Loyola de Palacio, former EU Commissioner for Transport who was the first of six top experts from all the modalities of transport. Central to the debate was the necessity of investments to cope with the changing situation of a market which is under severe pressure.

“New EU environmental regulations on gas emissions, the increased dimensions and weight of new cars as well as the shift of car production to the new factories in Eastern Europe have resulted in the necessity of an extensive renewal of the European fleet of car transporters (trucks and trailers), rail wagons and ships” said Kay Hanns Ewaldsen, president of ECG.

“We expect the investment flow to be in excess of one billion Euros per year for each of the next five years. Overall, some 5 billions Euros are being spent to buy up to 15,000 new Trucks and about 1,500 new Rail wagons, while at least 23 new ships are on order”, he said. The development is happening at a time when the Automotive logistics sector is being hit hard by the combined effect of two factors:

- the continuous pressure on prices (due to the stiff competition between Car Manufacturers which is reflected on the logistics operators);

- the constant growth of direct costs being sustained by the logistics operators due to the increased price of fuel, energy and personnel.

As a result of the pressure on prices and growth of cost, many European companies are disappearing from the market while the financial strength of the others is at serious risk. How can the resources to fund the investments then be found? Ruling out the possibility of obtaining a substantial increase of prices paid by the Manufacturers, it emerged in the course of the Conference as a viable solution to establish a sound cooperation between the Logistics Operators and the Car Manufactures themselves. Such cooperation should aim at increasing the overall logistics productivity through a number of measures, which are:

“The real issue – noted Mr Ewaldsen – is that the entire Automotive industry needs short term solutions but we are dealing with a problem which requires medium term projects. We fully understand the difficulties Car Manufacturers are going through, on the other hand they should recognise that we are both part of the same business: we need their cars to be delivered just as the Car Manufacturers need logistics operators to deliver their cars”.

(01-06-2005) For the first time since its creation 8 years ago ECG elected a new President. Kay Hanns Ewaldsen, Managing Director of Werner Egerland Automobillogistik GmbH & Co KG, has been elected President of European Car-Transport Group of Interest for 2 years.

The appointment was made during the last ECG General Assembly held in Strasbourg, France, on 27 May 2005.

“It is a pleasure and an honour to be elected as President of ECG and I thank my colleagues for their trust” said Kay Ewaldsen. “Over the last 8 years ECG has established and proven to be a unique platform for information, communication and integration. With its currently 59 members, ECG represents more than 2/3rds of the finished vehicles logistics industry in all transport modalities, which is an achievement of the past and the basis for a successful continuation of ECG’s role for both, the members and the OEMs. Looking into the future we expect a continuing pressure from the market in terms of prices and quality, rules and regulations from national and European authorities, cost pressure from fuel, energy and IT and on top of it consistent and not really predictable changes in vehicle flows and numbers that need to be transported. EU enlargement challenges new international forms of collaboration in which ECG plays an important role of information and integration, again among members and with clients.”

The ECG Board was elected, and consists of Costantino Baldissara (Grimaldi Group), Franz Blum (Vega International Car Transport & Logistics), Ulrich Burgath (E.H. Harms GmbH & Co KG Automobile-Logistics), Ilhan Çetinkaya (Ilçe Transportation Co), Wolfgang Göbel (Horst Mosolf GmbH & Co KG), John Gregory (AutoLogic), Alain Leray (STVA), Frits Mehrtens (Broekman Group), Veli-Matti Pärssinen (John Nurminen Oy) and Jacinto Segui (Autoterminal S.A.).

Richard Lawson, former ECG President, has been nominated honorary President and Frits Mehrtens Vice-President.

It was announced that the ECG Automotive Logistics Conference 2005 will take place in Barcelona on 7 October 2005. The theme of this year’s Conference will be “Automotive Logistics 2010”. The Conference is open to all interested parties.

(25-10-2004) The Finished Vehicle Logistics Sector is facing a situation where costs continue to rise as a result of developments mainly outside the control of the logistics operators. However, current logistic rates do not reflect this. Rising costs are the consequence of the car manufacturers adapting the logistics processes to meet a changing and highly competitive consumer market for vehicles, against a background of overproduction in a relatively mature market in the established Central European countries. This has led to increased pressure on the logistics suppliers to reduce transport rates at a time when the logistics process has become significantly more complex with fewer opportunities to optimise traffic flows and cost efficiency due to shorter lead times and irregular volume flows. Added to this have been other cost pressures for the logistics companies in respect of road tolls, increase in world fuel prices, as well as legislative factors such as the Working Time Directive etc. This combined with other factors has led to greater inefficiencies of operation and increased operating costs in the supply chain.

Whereas in respect of the inbound supply chain this has been re-engineered to optimise the flow of goods and components in a consistent manner to the production plants, the dynamics of the finished vehicle supply chain are very different as they are driven more by market demand which is much more seasonal and also dependent on the success of any manufacturers products in the market place. Moreover, car-transport equipment is unique and, as a result, capacity is limited. Uneven traffic flows put great stress on available capacity and efficiency and the driver skill set is very high to ensure safe and damage free handling of each vehicle.

The industry has moved from a "stock" economy to a "flow" economy (the customisation of vehicles and the number of options available have led to a "produce to order" system). This change has reduced the lead times, created uneven and irregular releases and therefore increased kilometres per delivery.

Manufacturing plants produce one single model, maximum two. In the past decades manufacturing plants used to produce the whole manufacturer's range of vehicles. Many European plants produce one single model for all Europe or in some cases for the whole world. It has led to lower load capacity, as has the introduction of higher roof and MPV and Van derived products, all of which has reduced carrying capacity on each transporter.

Manufacturing plants have been relocated in countries with lower costs, often very far from the final consumer. The distance to the market is greater, which again has put pressure to obtain the lowest transport cost.

The above process changes have resulted in major investment in IT solutions to track the car in the supply chain and also in new transporters to optimise load factors and new trucks to optimise fuel consumption and reduced pollution, all at a time when rates have been reducing. Moreover, the driver situation with the shortage and changing social demands of people makes that truck driving is no longer attractive as a profession.

Logistics operators have been approaching these trends in a proactive manner, and actions have been taken by them to increase efficiency. However, this is now exhausted unless the OEM’s introduce fundamental changes in the processes. Access to dealers is currently limited and logistics operators need longer and more flexible opening hours, avoiding congestion times. Other logistics flows of consumer goods take place at night and the OEM’s have to begin to recognise that trying to achieve shorter lead times, actually results in a more complex and cost inefficient supply chain, when in reality the final consumer may not demand such urgency in the supply chain. The consumer wants accuracy of delivery even if that may take more time. Again if we compare the supply chain we operate in with other goods, the delivery process is much more planned around fixed schedules that optimise the operation of the assets in the delivery cycle.
ECG, together with KPMG, has recently introduced a cost index to encourage greater awareness of cost increases. The ECG-KPMG Cost Index for the Road Transport of New Vehicles provides for the first time a transparent insight in the costs structure and costs development of road transport of new vehicles. The work developed by KPMG provides an insight in current costs and where possible in development of historic costs. Whereas this project is a first step towards a more transparent relationship with automotive manufacturers, ECG believes this initiative is essential to enhance the cooperation between the European Vehicle Logistics Operators and their partners in the Automotive Industry. The Sector needs to understand the costs and its driving factors.

It goes without saying that the growth potential in Central and Eastern Europe will increase together with the development of the economy in that region. Many car manufacturers have already established themselves in the new EU Member States. Whilst this is good news for the OEM’s, as a result they will need their logistics suppliers to establish new organisations to provide the services to support these new plants. This can only be done if the sector is profitable and able to justify new investment that will give a secure long term return.

Another challenge for the sector has been the coming into force of the Block Exemption, the European Regulation for the automobile distribution, which is changing the market dramatically. The Regulation came into force in October 2003 and it has already had an impact on the size and the number of dealers. The automobile manufacturers are likely to play an important role in the distribution in some regions and countries and the dealers may start providing services that used to be restricted to them. The Block Exemption will have an impact on the supply chain as the dealer and retailing automotive channels will alter and may again put greater cost pressure on the logistics operators.

ECG is very much concerned about the viability of the sector and what the future holds for its members, who are operating on very thin margins or losses which are being subsidised by other value added services. Investment is not being attracted to the sector and therefore long term the OEM’s key supply chain to the market is at risk. A number of companies have not been able to survive.

On 8th October, the ECG Automotive Logistics Conference 2004 took place in Berlin. The sixth annual ECG Conference is the only existing event focusing on outbound vehicle logistics exclusively. This year's event was a real success, attracting more than 170 delegates from vehicle logistics companies and their suppliers, vehicle manufacturers, press, consultants, software companies and port authorities, in short, all parties that are involved in the vehicle logistics business. This year's Conference had as premium sponsor IVECO SpA, main sponsors were DKV Euroservice, Lohr Industrie and Kässbohrer Transport Technik, and co-sponsors were RedPrairie and Terra. Next year's Conference will take place in Barcelona on 7 October 2005.
Theme of the Conference this year was "Moving East: Changing the Automotive Logistics Infrastructure in an enlarging EU". The Conference was opened by ECG President Richard Lawson. The programme consisted of eight speakers in the morning session and a Round Table discussion with six high level executives from the automotive and outbound vehicle logistics sector in the afternoon of the Conference day.
The first speaker, Senior Manager Transportation Logistics Vehicles of DaimlerChrysler AG, Egon Christ, discussed how to optimise an integrated brand logistics chain across an enlarged Europe. Edgar Thielmann, Head of Unit in the European Commission, reported the activities of the European Commission concerning the expansion of the Trans-European Transport Networks in the new EU countries. General Manager for East Europe Area of IVECO SpA, Natale Rigano, commented on the presence of IVECO in Central and Eastern Europe. Kai Kraass, Vice President and Head of Commercial Region Europe at Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines, gave his company’s perspective on an enlarging Europe. He expects that the changes in the automotive industry will have as a consequence a healthy growth in transport volume. Ulrich Näke, Head of Division in the German Transport Ministry, explained what the probable impact of EU enlargement will be on traffic flows and transport modalities. Elliot Swiss, Managing Director of Vector SCM GmbH, presented Vector’s strategy of how to manage networks within an enlarging EU. He gave an example of how collaboration of OEMs could have potential advantages. However, the reality is that OEMs are reluctant to integrate traffic flows with other OEMs. After that, Claude Guetin gave the reasons why GEFCO chose to move East. Business opportunities, geography, relocation of the car production, cheap and skilled local workforce, the high level of foreign direct investment and the relocation of GEFCO’s potential customers all played a role. Detthold Aden, Chairman of the Board of the BLG Logistics Group, gave examples of how BLG developed new ports and terminals to support the developing Eastern Automotive Industry.
In the afternoon, a Round Table discussion on topics of special relevance for the finished vehicle logistics sector was organised. Egon Christ, Senior Manager Transportation Logistics Vehicles of DaimlerChrysler AG, Kai Kraass, Vice President and Head of Commercial Region Europe of Wallenius Wilhelmsen Lines, Detthold Aden, Chairman of the Board of BLG, Claude Guetin, responsible for the development of outbound logistics for third-party clients at GEFCO, Jörg Mosolf, Managing Director of Horst Mosolf GmbH & Co KG, and Natale Rigano, General Manager of the East Europe Area at IVECO SpA, participated in the Round Table.
The first topic discussed was the relocation of major European manufacturers. The question was whether this marks the beginning of a fundamental shift in production from the established market to the new market and what would be the consequences for the supply chain. Egon Christ remarked that the new production plants in Eastern Europe are focusing mostly on mid to small size vehicles. Therefore DaimlerChrysler does not have the need at the moment for establishing plants in the East as they have enough capacity in their current plants. For GEFCO, Eastern Europe is an important market. Labour costs are still very low in these countries, but this has not been the main reason for GEFCO to move East, explained Claude Guetin. Also the distance of the production sites to the new markets plays an important role. According to Jörg Mosolf labour costs, consumer development, globalisation and sourcing will be the main reasons for deciding where a product is going to be produced. Vehicle logistics companies will have to focus on the decisions that are being taken and where they have to place themselves in the network. In addition, Natale Rigano remarked that there is a demand for vehicles in the Eastern European countries that was not there fifteen years ago. Besides this, the governments of these countries are also offering fiscal advantages to manufacturers for investments.
Globalisation will have as a consequence that some car manufacturing companies will become too big to manage. According to Claude Guetin, strategic decisions will still be taken at the head offices but operational decisions will be made by regional offices. More and more will have to be delegated. Globalisation also has positive consequences. For DaimlerChrysler the globalisation has driven new synergies and a redesign of the company, said Egon Christ. However, Detthold Aden put forward that there are brands that cannot be globalised, like for instance Ferrari and Jaguar. Globalisation also brought the problem of managing complexity and different cultures. For Kai Kraass this is a challenge, as the customer and the business might be local, but a global approach is needed to succeed.
The developments in the automotive industry will most likely have as a consequence that the role of road transportation will continue to increase, despite the fact that from an EU perspective rail and maritime transport are being promoted. Not all companies see a growth of road transportation. For instance GEFCO noted that rail is cheaper for distances of more than 500km. However, rail transport is still suffering from the problems of lead times, visibility, and regularity. In order to try and solve this, new activities with rail operators are being developed, but road will still be needed for distribution. DaimlerChrysler developed the tube train concept in the past years, which was very successful, but did not affect the volumes transported by rail. The concept was developed more to improve the quality of vehicles transported by train. The panel felt that transport capacity is balanced as far as road transport is concerned, but not yet for rail transport. Road transport has also a certain flexibility, which rail transport does not have. This could be a barrier when expanding rail transport. BLG noted it is currently developing inland waterway transport via the Rhine, but this is not an answer for the whole transport volume.
In conclusion, the panel discussed the fact that the relation between OEMs and the logistics providers has improved a lot in the past years, but is still not at the level that it could be. There could be a better understanding between both parties. For instance design and marketing strategy does not seem to consider the consequences of new car models on the supply chain. Also, the relation between OEMs and logistics providers has worsened because of the low margins. If these do not improve, this could be a risk for investment in the future. Egon Christ commented that he thought it was time for a closer cooperation between the OEMs and the logistics suppliers to understand the market pressures and future strategies and barriers facing both sides. An open dialogue and more understanding between both parties could help to solve many problems.

The Finished Vehicle Logistics Sector is facing a situation where costs continue to rise as a result of developments mainly outside the control of the logistics operators. However, current logistic rates do not reflect this. Rising costs are the consequence of the current economic situation of the car manufacturers (price reduction policies and raise of quality standards), the increase of fuel prices, of the introduction of road tolls in many European countries, as well as of many legislative factors, said Richard Lawson, President of ECG, the European Car-Transport Group of Interest. At the occasion of the 8th ECG General Assembly in Turin on 14 May 2004 the ECG President called on all finished vehicle logistics operators to look at the big picture and lead change, not just follow it.

More than seventy delegates representing the major European Finished Vehicle Logistics operators and their suppliers attended the 8th ECG General Assembly in Turin on 14 May 2004. Richard Lawson, President of the association, welcomed the five new members that have joined ECG since the last General Assembly in May 2003. ECG has now fifty members, a milestone for the association. It is a good recognition of where ECG is now positioning itself in respect of the industry. IVECO and Rolfo SpA were the Premium Sponsors of the event. Main Sponsor was Pirelli.

The Automotive Market in Europe, with 14 million cars registered every year, is a significant part of the world market. In Europe there is a large business base, and this will only increase with the recent enlargement of the European Union with ten new Member States. Traffic flows are changing, as Eastern European plants are gaining importance. Imports and exports are growing and this will continue to be the case in the next years. As the vehicle logistics industry is impacted by global economic conditions, some car manufacturers are putting enormous pressure on taking costs out of their supply chain to come to a competitive situation, and of course this is having dramatic consequences for the vehicle logistics sector.

The ECG President highlighted the fact that despite the situation logistics operators are facing at the moment, the sector is alive and well, and prepared to invest. Many ECG members have in the past year developed new initiatives, started co-operations, and opened new facilities. The automotive sector appreciates these new initiatives, as is shown by the many awards that ECG members have received from car manufacturers in the past year.

The future strategy of ECG was discussed. The mission of ECG as it had been agreed on at the foundation of ECG in 1997 is still valid today, but there is a need for more power behind this mission. The sector needs to be leading more instead of following. ECG has the respectability and the recognition, however, ECG needs to move forward. The ECG Board will become more strategic, and the members are encouraged to become more challenging.

The activities of ECG during the last year were reviewed. Over 120 internal and external ECG meetings took place, including Quality Workshops with car manufacturers, Regional Meetings and one information meeting on Road Tolls, which were all very well attended. Highlights were the ECG/VDA Round Table on Quality in Vehicle Logistics in September 2003, with car manufacturers such as DaimlerChrysler, Volkswagen, GEFCO and General Motors, and the 5th ECG Automotive Logistics Conference in Paris on 10 October 2003, which had a record number of attending delegates.

The seventh version of the document EU Measures Affecting the Vehicle Logistics Sector was presented to the delegates. It contains summaries of more than 80 measures enacted by the European Union Institutions, currently affecting the daily activities of the Vehicle Logistics Sector.

The ECG Board was elected, and consists of Costantino Baldissara (Grimaldi Group), Franz Blum (Vega International Car Transport & Logistics), Wolfgang Göbel (Horst Mosolf), John Gregory (AutoLogic), Alain Leray (STVA), Frits Mehrtens (Broekman Group), and Veli-Matti Pärssinen (John Nurminen Oy). ECG President Richard Lawson and Vice-President Kay Hanns Ewaldsen had been elected at the previous General Assembly for a two year mandate.

It was announced that the ECG Automotive Logistics Conference 2004 will take place in Berlin on 8 October 2004. The theme of this year’s Conference will be “Moving East: Changing the Automotive Logistics Infrastructure in an enlarging EU”. The Conference is open to all interested parties.

Following an invitation by Lohr Industrie, the 9th ECG General Assembly will take place in Strasbourg on 22 April 2005.

Fuensanta Martínez Sans
Executive Director of ECG
Bd Reyers 80, 1030 Brussels
Tel: + 32 2 706 82 82; Fax: + 32 2 706 82 81
Info@eurocartrans.org; www.eurocartrans.org