Planes, trains, and automobiles ... almost every industry we cover requires a means of getting its goods from point A to point B. It could be your wintertime Granny Smith apple, shipped from Chile; or your iPod, made of parts flown in from China and assembled in California until it is trucked to your city, or flown back to your country. The gasoline in your car (which perhaps came from Detroit, Japan, Korea, or Germany) may be from Venezuela or Iraq. Almost everything you buy is better traveled than you could ever hope to be. And that translates into major profit for the corporations that own the means of transport.
Hanjin Heavy Industries & Construction was the first ship building company in Korea, established in 1937 at Youngdo, Pusan as "Chosun Heavy Industry Co., Ltd.", according to their website. The company builds everything from hospitals to apartment buildings through its construction segment and patrol boats to oil tankers through its shipbuilding segment.
Embraer, the Empresa Brasileira de Aeronáutica S.A., is a Brazilian aerospace conglomerate. The company produces commercial, military, and corporate aircraft, as well as providing related aerospace services. From 1999 to 2001 it was Brazil's largest exporter and is one of the three main exporters in Brazil. Among all aircraft manufacturers, it currently has the third largest yearly delivery of commercial aircraft (behind Boeing and Airbus) and the fourth largest workforce (behind Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier).
ABB (formerly Asea Brown Boveri) is a Zürich, Switzerland-based multinational, one of the largest engineering and construction companies in the world, with operations in 100 countries.
Nissan Motor Company, Limited is a Japanese automobile manufacturer, which formerly marketed vehicles under the Datsun brand name and is one of the largest car manufacturers. The company's main offices are located in the Ginza area of Chūō-ku, Tokyo with disassembling by 2013, but Nissan plans to move their headquarters to Yokohama, Kanagawa by 2010, with construction starting in 2007. In 1999, Nissan entered an alliance with Renault S.A. of France. Nissan is among the top three Asian rivals of the "big three" in the U.S. Currently they are the third largest Japanese car manufacturer.
Honda Motor Company, Limited is a Japanese multinational corporation, engine manufacturer and engineering corporation. Honda is the largest engine-maker in the world, producing more than 14 million internal combustion engines built each year. The company manufactures automobiles and motorcycles and also produces other products.
According to the company Boeing is "the world's leading aerospace company and the largest manufacturer of commercial jetliners and military aircraft combined. Boeing designs and manufactures rotorcraft, electronic and defense systems, missiles, satellites, launch vehicles and advanced information and communication systems. As a major service provider to NASA, Boeing operates the Space Shuttle and International Space Station. ... Boeing has customers in more than 90 countries around the world and is one of the largest U.S.
DaimlerAG, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, produces cars, truck and vans as well as commercial vehicles and aerospace products. The company, which reported revenues of $177.26 billion in 2005, employs over 384,000 people. Trucks and SUVs account for 71 percent of the company's sales.
General Motors, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is the leading car and truck maker under brands such as Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Pontiac, Saab, and Saturn. In addition, the company produces communications and commercial transportation products. The company has 335,000 employees and reported $192.6 billion in revenues in 2005.
Ford was launched in a converted factory in 1903 with $28,000 in cash from twelve investors, most notably John Francis Dodge and Horace Elgin Dodge who would later found the Dodge Brothers Motor Vehicle Company. During its early years, the company produced just a few Model T's a day at its factory on Mack Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. Groups of two or three men worked on each car from components made to order by other companies.
