State of the Union June 14, 2011

June 14, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

•    From Chairman Mike Bullock: Unfortunately, due to the chassis breakdown on June 1, we will have to make up 130 units of lost production. The breakdown occurred at 2 pm that afternoon and was not repaired until 10 pm that night. While the lost production time was less than 4 hours, the contract language does not specify production time in defining a breakdown. The National Agreement states that limitations on overtime “shall be suspended in any plant whose operations are interrupted by emergency situations, such as single breakdowns of four hours or more” and that “management’s right to suspend such limitations for the purpose of making up lost production is, however, in the case of breakdowns, limited to production lost as the result of single breakdowns of four or more hours” (page 244) The International Union has confirmed that we are required to make up the lost production. However, for the rest of June, NOline time will be longer than 11.2.
•    Union meeting is this Wednesday, June 15 at 7:15 am, 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
•    GM announced yesterday that they will invest $20 million in machinery and equipment for its Fairfax Assembly plant to add future technologies and improvements to the Buick LaCrosse including eAssist, a light electrification technology that will boost highway fuel economy by 25 percent over the current model. GM also announced last Friday that they would invest $47 million into its Defiance powertrain plant to purchase tooling and equipment to increase production of components for the Ecotec 1.4-liter engine and the next generation of small block car and truck engines.
•    From Reuters: General Motors Chief Executive Daniel Akerson has reassured the head of its European arm, Opel, that the U.S. carmaker was not in talks to sell it to a rival, according to a German newspaper. Akerson made the assurances in a phone call with Opel CEO Karl-Friedrich Stracke, Handelsblatt daily reported, citing a person familiar with the situation. GM dropped plans to spin off Opel in 2009 after months of negotiations to sell it, and embarked on a drastic restructuring to get the unit, which lost $1.6 billion last year, back on track. German media reported last week that GM was considering putting Opel back up for sale, with Europe's biggest carmaker Volkswagen and China's Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Co (BAIC) possible buyers.
•    From Automotive News: Toyota and Honda reported lower inventory for the third straight month in June as they continue to recover from parts shortages caused by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Toyota Motor Sales U.S.A.'s inventory has plummeted by nearly 50 percent since March 1, falling to 198,900 vehicles on June 1, from 384,200 on March 1. American Honda's inventory of 137,500 vehicles on June 1 was down from 258,000 before the quake, a 47 percent drop. Toyota has said its production in Japan would return to 90 percent of prequake levels and North American production would hit 70 percent of normal output by July 1. Honda said this month that production at its two Japanese plants, and North American production of all models except the Civic, would return to normal this summer. Combined, the Detroit 3 had 1.3 million units of inventory on June 1, a 59-day supply. That was virtually the same as the prequake figure of 62 days as of March 1.
•    From the Detroit News: Honda's profit for the fiscal year through March 2012 is expected to plunge 63.5 percent as vehicles sales slipped amid a parts shortage caused by the quake and tsunami in northeastern Japan. Honda is projecting a profit of 195 billion yen ($2.4 billion) for the current fiscal year, down sharply from 534 billion yen recorded the previous fiscal year. Last week, Toyota, the world's No. 1 automaker, said its annual profit for the fiscal year through March 2012 will dive 31 percent. Toyota forecast a 280 billion yen ($3.5 billion) profit for the fiscal year through March 2012, down from 408 billion yen for the previous fiscal year.
•    With talk of up to 62 mpg future federal fuel economy requirements, use of aluminum parts in new vehicles is getting further attention. Pickups in particular are expected to be a target for increased use. Currently the Silverado uses aluminum prop shafts, transfer cases, transmission housings, wheels, control arms and -- depending on the choice of powertrain -- aluminum engine blocks and cylinder heads. GM decides whether to use aluminum on a part-by-part basis, said Tim Asoklis, chief engineer of GM pickups. "You have to use aluminum strategically," Asoklis said. Otherwise, he said, "we'd price ourselves out of the market."
•    From Bloomberg: Nissan Motor Co. is aggravating the customers it needs most. Nissan, which wants to become the top seller of electric cars, repeatedly delayed deliveries to some U.S. buyers who reserved the first 20,000 Leafplug-in hatchbacks, according to interviews with customers. They said Nissan unexpectedly dropped some from the waiting list temporarily, asking that they reapply if they couldn’t prove they’d arranged installation of home- charging units that can cost more than $2,000. “My delivery date kept jumping around, from April to ‘pending’ to May to June to July,” said Marc Fishman, a 42- year-old movie sound editor from Burbank, California. He said Nissan canceled the first order he placed, in September 2010, without explanation and gave him conflicting information after he reordered the next month. The company expected “challenges” with its first electric car and first “built-to-order” model sold via the Internet in the U.S., said Brendan Jones, manager of Leaf sales in the country. On Nissan’s consumer website, people thinking about owning a Leaf are guided through a “suitability analysis,” Jones said. “It asks you, how much do you drive, do you have a garage?” he said. “Do some self-analysis before proceeding.” While anyone can reserve a Leaf for a $99 fee, for now Nissan lets people actually place orders in only seven states: Arizona, California, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Texasand Washington. “I expected the Leaf as early as December last year, and no later than March this year, so it is disappointing,” said David Radzieta, a computer systems analyst in Hueytown, Alabama, who made his reservation in July 2010. In Burbank, Fishman said he’s frustrated because his chance of getting a $5,000 electric car rebate from California has been put at risk. The program, funded by vehicle registration fees, may run out of money in July.