The OICA, or Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers), tracks and represents the global auto industry. Here is a raw summary of the light commercial vehicle (LCV) production for 2017 to 2018 by countries.
A light commercial vehicle is generally referred to as a commercial carrier vehicle with a gross vehicle weight of no more than 3.5 metric tons. USA, Mexico and China remain the top three light commercial vehicle (LCV) producers for 2017-2018 and account more than 60% of the global production of light commercial vehicles.
In 2018, there are close to 21 million light commercial vehicles produced. Out of which, 38.8% (or 8.2 million vehicles) are produced in USA, 11% (or 2.3 million vehicles) are produced in Mexico and 9.5% (or 2 million vehicles) are produced in China.
In 2017, there are close to 20 million light commercial vehicles produced. Out of which, 39% (or 7.9 million vehicles) are produced in USA, 10% (or 2 million vehicles) are produced in Mexico and 8.7% (or 1.77 million vehicles) are produced in China.
(Note: some figures may be rounded off; listed figures have not been adjusted for double-counting across countries)
Stratolaunch. The aircraft with the longest wingspan at 117m is the Stratolaunch. The Stratolaunch is a special plane (or a pair of planes) built to deliver payloads, such as satellites, into spatial orbits. It weights a hefty 226,796 kg without payload.
Hughes H-4 Hercules. At second, is a prototype strategic airlift flying boat built by the Hughes Aircraft Company - the Hughes H-4 Hercules (a.k.a Spruse Goose). Built in 1947 and the only of its kind built, with a cost of $2.5 million dollars, the Hughes H-4 Hercules has a wingspan of 98m.
Antonov An-225 Mriya. In third place, with a wingspan of 88m, is the heaviest plane on Earth - the Antonov An-225 Mriya of Ukraine. It was originally built for military transport purposes, but today, it is primarily deployed for commercial cargo transport.
These are the world's most expensive yachts. Each of these yachts are easily priced north of US$150 million dollars.
The longest of 'em all - the Azzam (meaning "Resolute") - is also the most expensive. The Azzam is a private yacht built by Lürssen Yachts. Azzam spans 180 metres (590 ft) in length and was built at an astounding cost of US$605M.
In fact, all the top three most expensive yachts, including the Dilbar (US$600M) and the Topaz (US$527M), in this list are built by Lürssen Yachts.
In general, there are three categories of delivery robot-as-a-service offerings, organized and determined primarily based on delivery mileage.
1. Public-road autonomous delivery vehicles
These are autonomous robot vehicles that can travel on public roads and are capable of handling city-range or town-range deliveries (5-20km radius). RaaS companies in this space include uDelv, Robomart, AutoX and nuro. There are pure-delivery players that have a per-delivery fee model (e.g. nuro - $5.95 per delivery) and there are hybrid delivery-and-grocery-on-wheels players (e.g. AutoX, Robomart) which charges based on grocery purchases and/or delivery from its delivery vehicles.
Robomart. Robomart is a San Francisco-based US firm that provides autonomous "mini-mart" vehicles. Its revenue is derived from the grocery purchases made on Robotmart vehicles. The firm is currently running a pilot program in the greater Boston area with Stop & Shop.
View a demonstration of Robomart's "mini-mart" on wheels below.
...
nuro. Nuro is a US-based firm that develops the same-name unmanned robot vehicle nuro which is "a self-driving vehicle made for local goods transportation". The firm has started a pilot program with Domino's for pizza delivery in Houston and another with Fry's Food Stores in Arizona for groceries at $5.95 per delivery.
Watch how customers obtain their deliveries from the nuro robot vehicle.
AutoX. AutoX is a US-based company makes use of its autonomous vehicles to provide robo-deliveries. The revenue model is based on item purchases at in-app and in-vehicle stores and delivery fees..
Watch how the AutoX vehicle perform robo-deliveries below.
UDelv. UDelv is based in California, United States and provides an end-to-end autonomous delivery solutions to merchants. Its autonomous delivery vehicles (ADVs) can drive at highway speeds of up to 60mph and handle deliveries of over 800 lbs and up to 32 customer orders per cycle.
2. Community delivery robots
These are autonomous delivery robots that make deliveries within 5-6km radius (typically using sidewalks and small-roads) and target local communities and campuses. RaaS companies in this space include Starship, HelloWorld TARS, Eliport, Marble and Kiwibot. Most of these companies charge on a per-delivery model, ranging from US$1.99 (Starship) to US$3.80 (Kiwibot).
Starship. Starship is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, with its main engineering team based in Estonia. Its fleet of robots can deliver items within a 4-mile (6 km) radius, making local delivery faster, safer and more cost-efficient. To date, Starship's fleet of robots has completed 100,000 deliveries, charging customers about $1.99 per order.
HelloWorld TARS. Most of the local-delivery robotics firms covered in this article are based in the United States. HelloWorld Robotics hails from the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, a twelve-hour timezone difference from most of the local-delivery competition. HelloWorld Robotics has developed TARS, the first autonomous last mile delivery robot in Southeast Asia. The TARS delivery robots are being piloted in Cyberjaya, Malaysia, serving customers within a radius of 1-2 km.
Article continues below..
The top 50 busiest airports in North America processed a total of 1.5 billion passengers in 2017.
Handling the lion's share of this traffic at 104 million passengers, is the Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The Atlanta airport has been the world's busiest airport by passenger traffic since 1998. This milestone can be attributed to Atlanta's location as a major connecting hub and port of entry into North America. In fact, Atlanta is well situated within a two-hour flight radius of 80% of the United States population of around 330 million.
Toronto Pearson International Airport is the largest and busiest airport by passenger traffic in Canada, handling 47.1 million passengers in 2017. In 2018, the Airports Council International (ACI), the global organization representing the world's airports, awarded the Toronto Pearson International Airport the title of Best Large Airport and the Airport Service Quality (ASQ) Award.
A useful guide for travellers North America in Europe: Today, about 13 North American countries and territories practise right-hand traffic (RHT) for their roads.
Right-hand traffic (RHT) is the practice of keeping to the right side of the road, in bidirectional traffic. In RHT, vehicles keep right and the cars are left-hand drive (LHD) with the steering wheel on the left-hand side of the car.
Click here for the list of North American countries and territories that practise left-hand traffic (LHT) driving.
The OICA, or Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d'Automobiles (International Organization of Motor Vehicle Manufacturers), tracks and represents the global auto industry. Here is a raw summary of the heavy truck production for 2017 to 2018 by countries.
China, Japan and India remain the top three respective heavy truck producers for 2017-2018 and account for more than 70% of the global production of heavy trucks.
In 2018, there are close to 4.2 million heavy trucks produced. Out of which,50.3% (or 2.1 million heavy trucks) are produced in China, 12.2% (or 0.5 million heavy trucks) are produced in Japan and 9.6% (or 0.4 million heavy trucks) are produced in India.
In 2017, there are close to 4 million heavy trucks produced. Out of which, 55% (or 2.2 million heavy trucks) are produced in China, 12.6% (or 0.5 million heavy trucks) are produced in Japan and 7% (or 0.3 million heavy trucks) are produced in India.
This is the current fleet of Thai Airways as of 1 Sep 2018. Among the newest aircraft models, Thai Airways has 4 Boeing 787 Dreamliners, which were received in years 2014 and 2015.
THAI’s Dreamliner interior is based on the Contemporary Thai design concept, with 264 seats in a two-class cabin. Each of the 24 Royal Silk Class seats is fitted with a 60-inch pitch and 21-inch seat width, and can recline to a 78-inch-long bed in full-flat, 180-degree position. The seats are shell-typed seats with a partition screen between seats, and arranged in a 2-2-2 abreast configuration allowing for privacy and easy access to the aisles.
A useful guide for travellers planning to drive in South American countries and territories. Most South American territories practise right-hand traffic, with the remaining - Guyana and Suriname - practising left-hand traffic for the roads.
Likewise, left-hand traffic (LHT) is the practice of keeping to the left side of the road, in bidirectional traffic. In LHT, vehicles keep left and the cars are right-hand drive (RHD) with the steering wheel on the right-hand side of the car.
Looking at the top ten longest bridges, given that 9 out of 10 bridges are located in Asia, we can safely conclude that Asia is the land of long bridges.
Within Asia, China takes the undisputed crown, having built majority of the longest bridges - the longest of which - the Danyang-Kunshan Grand Bridge which stretches well over 164.8km or close to 4 marathon laps.
China is an expansive country and has invested considerably to build up its transportation infrastructure over the past few years. These long bridges serve to "bridge" the distance between distant cities and town and bring great economic benefits in terms of domestic trade, logistics and travel.
This list is last updated in 23 October 2018, when the Hong Kong–Zhuhai–Macau Bridge, the longest sea bridge linking Hong Kong, Macau and Zhuhai (55 km) is officially opened.
Welcome to the world of uber-rich people owning uber-luxurious yachts. The longest of 'em all - the Azzam (meaning "Resolute") - is a private yacht built by Lürssen Yachts. Azzam spans 180 metres (590 ft) in length and was built at an astounding cost of US$605M.
Another outstanding yacht is the Eclipse, the world's second largest private yacht at 162.5 metres (533 ft 2 in). Owned by Russian billionaire Roman Abramovich, Eclipse has two helicopter pads, 24 guest cabins, two swimming pools, several hot tubs, and a disco hall. Eclipse is manned by 70 crew members and was built at a cost of around US$500M.
At third longest, is the yacht named Dubai and naturally, owned by the Ruler of Dubai, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Dubai measures 162 metres (531 ft) long. Including its 88 crew members, Dubai can hold more than 115 guests and was built at a cost of US$400 million.
