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This paper describes the challenges being faced by different participants in the automobile sector value chain during Mercosur market consolidation. This is an extended case study that analyses in depth, actions that the different companies carried out both in their operations management and with their customers and suppliers. The research highlights several aspects of the Argentine automotive value chain: difficulty in managing relative development speeds within the value chain; uncompleted regulatory framework development in order to gain synergy in a regional context; different operation strategies followed by assemblers to cope with market pressures (“green field” versus resources improvement); and weak links in the value chain, especially suppliers and dealers. Future efforts by assemblers should be oriented to work in the calibration of the development speeds of all the value chain in order to improve their competitiveness.

Realistic composite vehicles with 2, 3, 5 and 9 axles, consisting of a truck with one or two trailers, are addressed in this paper by computational models for vehicle–bridge interaction analysis.

The vehicle–bridge interaction (VBI) models are formed by sets of 2-D rigid blocks interconnected by mass, damping and stiffness elements to simulate their suspension system. The passage of the vehicles is performed at different speeds. Several rolling surface profiles are admitted, considering the maintenance grade of the pavement. The spectral density functions are generated from an experimental database to form the longitudinal surface irregularity profiles. A computational code written in Phyton based on the finite element method was developed considering the Euler–Bernoulli beam model.

Several models of composite heavy vehicles are presented as manufactured and currently travel on major roads. Dynamic amplification factors are presented for each type of composite vehicle.

The VBI models for compound heavy vehicles are 2-D.

This work contributes to improving the safety and lifetime of the bridges, as well as the stability and comfort of the vehicles when passing over a bridge.

The structural response of the bridge is affected by the type and size of the compound vehicles, their speed and the conservative grade of the pavement. Moreover, one axle produces vibrations that can be superposed by the vibrations of the other axles. This effect can generate not usual dynamic responses.