After growing rapidly over the past five years, new vehicle sales in the U.S. have been declining in 2017, according to reports from major automakers. On the one hand, this is bad news for original equipment manufacturers, the suppliers whose parts go into the manufacturing of new vehicles. But automakers are still making cars at a rapid pace, even as owners are hanging onto their vehicles longer — 11.6 years on average in 2016, according to IHS Automotive. That’s good news for replacement parts suppliers such as Bridgestone, Michelin, Toyo, Yokohama and other tire producers and retailers such as AutoZone, Advance Auto Parts, NAPA, O’Reilly and Pep Boys. At nearly 1 million TEU a year, auto parts imports are a critical commodity for ocean carriers, freight forwarders and U.S. ports, including Los Angeles, Long Beach, Charleston, Savannah and New York-New Jersey, among the largest gateways for imports in the first six months of 2017, according to IHS Markit data.
But there are immense challenges — and potentially disruptive ones — coming, including the impact of electric and autonomous vehicles, China’s environmentally driven factory shutdowns and regulatory initiatives in the U.S. and abroad.
HCS International will host a free webcast, “The Automotive Supply Chain: Gearing For Major Change” on Nov. 16 to address these issues. This webcast will analyze this dynamic and changing segment of the supply chain, look at import, export and macroeconomic trends among U.S. ports and ocean carriers and examine how 3PLs are managing automotive services for their customers. It also will look at how the aftermarket has grown and changed in the past 50 years, the role played by the logistics department, its’ critical role in the supply chain and the need to grow with the times.
This unique webcast is directed at the automotive industry and will speak to issues that affect almost every aspect of the aftermarket. The subjects are relevant to everyone involved in supply chain and especially to senior executives, including the C-suite, according to HCS.
Date: 11/16/17
Time: 11 a.m. PST – 12 p.m. MST – 1 p.m. CST – 2 p.m. EST
Duration: 75 minutes
