State of the Union March 31 2010

There will be 13 members recalled Monday, April 5. The new seniority date to hold the plant is 7-23-1985. More members will be recalled April 12 and 19 but the number is still to be determined.
•    As of today, 19 laid off members have accepted transfer to Ft. Wayne effective April 5. The following week, 4-12, 14 laid off members will transfer to Ft. Wayne and 2 will transfer to Fairfax. That will leave 278 members on layoff.
•    Good news from the benefits department: Optional life insurance premium payments will be suspended for May and June and optional dependant life insurance payments will be suspended from May through December.
•    Thanks to everyone who donated their time and money to provide Easter baskets to needy children. There were 75 baskets overflowing with candy and toys that are sure to brighten a child’s Easter holiday.
•    From the Detroit Free Press: For the 15 months ended Sept. 30, 2009, Americans scrapped 1.2 million more vehicles than they bought, a historical first, according to R.L. Polk & Co, which has tracked car owning patterns since 1948. More than 14.8 million cars and light trucks were crushed or recycled in that period, while consumers registered 13.6 million new vehicles. “It foreshadows what may be pent-up demand. The assumption is that those vehicles have to be replaced,” said Lonnie Miller, Polk vice president for marketing and industry analysis. The average vehicle on U.S. roads was 10.2 years old during the 15 months of Polk’s most recent analysis. That is the oldest fleet in at least 14 years.
•    From Automotive News: Two leading U.S. economists today predicted a return to more normal economic conditions by the end of 2010. As a result, they forecast U.S. light-vehicle sales will reach 14 million units in 2011 and grow to old levels of 17 million and above by middecade. However, market share among automakers will remain extremely fluid. Once the economy is rolling, by 2013 about 70 to 75 million young consumers will enter the market. In addition, while scrappage demand may not return to high percentages -- thanks to constantly improving quality lengthening the ownership cycle -- there is significant pent-up demand that will see more replacement purchases in the near term, George Magliano, IHS Global Insight director of automotive research said.