P E O PLE • PLA CES • PR OD UCTS • POTENTIAL
What’s the move?
Industry snippets and quick news about people and products on the move...
UD Trucks introduces full automatic transmission
on popular ud 90 model
U
D Trucks Southern Africa has announced the introduction
of a new UD90 ATM model to its already comprehensive
product line-up. This heavy
commercial freight carrier now
boasts a fully automatic Allison
transmission that is set to
provide fleet owners with a
more powerful, efficient and
productive performance.
Jacques Carelse, managing director of UD Trucks Southern Africa,
believes this new model offers fleet owners a smart and modern
transport solution. “The new model provides customers with
modern transmission technology, smoother operation
and longer service intervals,” says Carelse. “To us, it
is another way in which we are aiming to introduce
innovative ways in which we can go the extra
mile for our customers.” UD Trucks are using a
2500 TC221 P&D Allison transmission in the
range and it is incorporated into the UD90 at
its assembly plant in Rosslyn. Allison is one
of the world’s premier providers of automatic
transmissions for commercial vehicles and is
renowned for its quality and reliability.
“The main benefits of using a torque converter
gearbox include improved performance and
more efficient fuel consumption. Ultimately, its
means more savings for our UD fleet owners,”
says Carelse.
Decade of logistics cost information now available
A
decade’s information on the country’s logistics costs and
efficiency is now available with the launch of the 10th State
of Logistics™ survey for South Africa, published by the
Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) in collaboration
with Imperial Logistics and Stellenbosch University. In 2012 the
absolute cost of logistics was R393 billion. Logistics costs are
estimated to have been R423 billion in 2013 and are forecasted to
be between R456 billion and R470 billion in 2014, depending on fuel
inflation. Logistics costs as a percentage of GDP have remained
at a stable level of 12.5% for 2011 to 2013 and are forecasted to
show a slight increase in 2014 depending on the magnitude of fuel
inflation.
End-to-end integration of supply chain functions is the next
major shift required in South Africa to make business more
customer-centric and competitive. An integrated supply chain
approach unlocks logistics efficiencies that were previously
unavailable, as illustrated by Nissan SA’s recent successes.
The public sector needs to create an enabling environment for
effective logistics. Appropriate logistics infrastructure and a
greater drive towards intermodalism are key enablers to reduce
costs and improve performance in South Africa’s logistics
industry. Investment in rail, road, port, pipeline and airport
infrastructure continues to be a high priority for the country
with hundreds of billions of rand invested annually in various
projects. “As is the case globally, funding for mega infrastructure
projects is a significant constraining factor, thus public private
partnerships (PPPs) are becoming essential to realise the
country’s ambitious infrastructure expansion plans,” according to
the survey.
A deeper investigation of individual cost components and cost
drivers show that the increase in logistics costs is perhaps not
so much the result of deteriorating efficiency in the industry but
the disproportionate growth in cost drivers – especially fuel.
The survey reports that South African supply chains have moved
beyond survival to optimised mode, where costs, inventories and
lead times have been minimised within individual supply chain
functions.
| logistics in action
The 10th State of Logistics™ survey for South
Africa is downloadable at: www.csir.co.za/sol and at
www.imperiallogistics.co.za/stateoflogistics
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july 2014