Toyota Suspends Production in Sorocaba, Brazil

Toyota is one of the OEMs least affected by the semiconductor crisis, but it now says production will be suspended for 10 days at its Sorocaba plant. The announcement does not refer specifically to semiconductors and other components and materials may be affecting the production capacity.

Source: Valor     Read The Article

PSR Analysis: The shortage of materials and price escalation is affecting all OEMs and suppliers in the automotive supply chain, from basic steel grades to semiconductors. Price escalation goes up to 120% in local currency and OEMs are struggling to keep the lines running and maintain competitiveness. This time, even Toyota, known as the best planner and most stable OEM over here had to push the brakes and take a breath to return production in a better ordered way.    PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development South America, for Power Systems Research

Ford Ends Production of Troller

Even though Ford has announced the end of production of the off-road Troller T4 in Horizonte, Ceará, Brazil, by September 2021, the secretary of industrial development of Ceará says that while Ford is working to sell the productive unit, it wants to keep the brand and the product design as its property. Government of the state is trying to change Ford executives mind about the decision.

Source: Autoespoerte / O Globo    Read The Article

PSR Analysis: Troller T4 holds an important share of the sports outdoor market niche and can be explored by specialized players. The product holds an important reputation among off-road lovers and the end of production will make a hole in the product lineup aimed at these people.   PSR

Fabio Ferraresi is Director Business Development South America, for Power Systems Research

Rapid Economic Recovery Puts Pressure on Supply Chain

Christopher Bamforth
Christopher Bamforth

After continued positive market trends which started towards the end of 2020, as well as good progress in their initiatives for integration and sustainability, the Finnish quarrying and mining equipment group Metso Outote grew their order intake in the second quarter by 43%. Supported further by a robust recovery fuelled by infrastructure investments in Europe and the US, and the quarterly orders were higher than in the first quarter.

They believe that many of these new order intakes are a direct result from their “Positive planet portfolio”. This new initiative has been designed help customers improve the sustainability and productivity of their operations. This initiative performed even better than expected, they have already estimated a value of €105m end of June, out of the predicted €120m for 2021. This highlights the ecological trend that we are seeing across most industries.

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How Much Energy Does Bitcoin Consume?

John Krzesicki
John Krzesicki

Today, Bitcoin consumes as much energy as a small country. This certainly sounds alarming, but the reality is a little more complex.

Our clients design and build generators installed for data centers, factories, distribution centers, commercial buildings, office buildings, grocery stores, and banks for emergency backup, peak shaving, or continuous power.  Bitcoin miners utilize data centers for housing and managing their data (server) farms.  

Bitcoin is a digital currency powered by many computers worldwide working to maintain the Bitcoin blockchain, a public database of all transactions on the network ever made. Bitcoin miners compete to officially record and verify the transaction and earn bitcoin as a reward. These transactions are verified by solving complex cryptographic and mathematical problems for which Bitcoin miners use a lot of power. The computers that record and verify Bitcoin transactions consume power at a level similar to some countries.  The exact amount of energy used by a Bitcoin transaction can vary based on demand.

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Most Regions Will Post 20%+ Growth in Truck Production

Chris Fisher
Chris Fisher

Editor’s Note: This is an updated report from the Q2 2021 Truck Production Index report produced by Chris Fisher and Jim Downey, Vice President-Global Data Products, in July 2021.

Question: What is the global truck production picture? What is the outlook?

PSR Opinion: Overall, medium and heavy truck demand will finish the year on a strong note, and continued strength is expected into 2022.  On-going supply chain disruptions will continue to impact production throughout the rest of the year and likely into 2022.

Question: What kind of global production volume do you expect for this year?

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Sinara May Dismiss 20% of Workers Because of Reduced Orders

Maxim Sakov
Maxim Sakov

The machine building company “Sinara – Transport machines” (STM), says it may be forced to dismiss 20% of personnel because it has lost most of its orders from Russian Railways for cranes and other railway service machines.

Sinara has lost 85% of the orders from Russian Railways for railway service machines. Because of decreasing orders from the railway monopoly, the main client of STM, 7,000 people on its plants have not worked since August. The total personnel number in STM is 32,000 people, so about 20% of its personnel is questionable. Now, the company is looking for a way to re-qualify these people

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KAMAZ Introduces Hercules Articulated Truck

The first pictures of the new KAMAZ articulated mining truck have been published, showing a configuration of the truck with a 6×6 chassis. It will compete with the Caterpillar 740 and Volvo A40F.

The articulated frame will increase maneuverability and off-road characteristics of the truck. Hercules will be equipped with a hybrid powertrain. The new truck will use a KAMAZ R6 engine of 450 hp, and the nominal output of every electric motor will be 517 hp. The load capacity of Hercules is 40 tons, and the full weight is 75 tons. A light option with 4×4 format and 25-ton capacity are also in the plans.

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Russia To Suspend Support of Domestic Auto Industry

The Russian auto market’s increased demand for new passenger cars has caused inventory shortages, and these shortages have caused Russian authorities to suspend State programs of industry support.

In May, for example, the number of the cars sold increased by 2.3 times, compared to same period in 2020. This growth is partly the result of pandemic restrictions last year. A total of 663,000 new cars have been delivered to the customers this year, up 39% from a year ago.

Another reason for the shortage of cars in Russia is a shortage of semiconductor chips.

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Second FAME II Incentives May Spur EV Demand

Aditya Kondejkar

The amendments to the FAME-II electric vehicle policy were rolled out in the last month and manufacturers have lauded the efforts in adopting EV mobility in the country.

Source: Financial Express. Read The Article  

The government partially modified the Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of Electric Vehicles in India Phase II. Further, it has included an additional demand incentive for electric two-wheelers to ₹15,000 per KWh from an earlier uniform subsidy of ₹10,000 per KWh for all EVs, including plug-in hybrids and strong hybrids except buses.

 This decision will increase subsidies for such vehicles by 50% under the FAME II scheme and be a game-changer in adopting EVs.

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Sany Challenges Komatsu’s Grip on Indonesian Construction Machinery Market

Akihiro Komuro
Akihiro Komuro

The battle between major Japanese and Chinese construction machinery companies is intensifying in Indonesia. As the growth of the Chinese market slows, China’s Sanichi Heavy Industries is accelerating its overseas expansion in search of new sources of revenue.

Komatsu, which has a stronghold in Southeast Asia, is responding by introducing mid-priced machines and expanding its maintenance bases. Who will dominate the growing market following China will also affect the power structure of the construction equipment market in Asia.

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