April 29, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: I want to thank you for your contributions to the March of Dimes/March for Babies drive. We set a new record for one shift - $4140 (which included an anonymous check from trim for $100)! I’ve always said that there isn’t a more generous workforce in the corporation. Also, there will be 8 members recalled instead of 4 on Monday, May 2. One member still needs to be contacted – Tajuana M. Anderson. If anyone knows her, tell her to call 636-327-2100 or 636-327-2250.
From Automotive News: Violent weather across Alabama, Georgia and Tennessee has halted production at Toyota and Mercedes-Benz plants in Alabama, as emergency workers try to assess two days of damage in the region. On Wednesday, a mile-wide tornado destroyed parts of Tuscaloosa, Ala., damaging the Mercedes-Benz U.S. International auto-assembly plant just north of the city. The same storm cell of multiple tornadoes wreaked havoc along a 300-mile stretch, taking out power to an unknown number of auto parts manufacturers and other businesses as far north as Virginia. A Mercedes plant spokeswoman was quoted in the Tuscaloosa News earlier today saying that Mercedes had halted operations because suppliers were unable to deliver parts due to the storms. In some areas, highway exit ramps were damaged and closed. As of Thursday afternoon, the Mercedes plant had not resumed operations and a spokeswoman told Automotive Newsit would remain down Friday. The same weather ripped down utility lines as far north as Huntsville, Ala., where Toyota operates a key U.S. engine plant. Toyota spokesman Mike Goss said today the engine plant stopped work Wednesday night when it lost power. He said the power could be out at least through the weekend.
From the Wall Street Journal: Booming demand for luxury cars, particularly in China, and a recovery in major truck markets helped Germany's Daimler AG almost double its first-quarter net profit and remain on track to deliver a "significant rise" in earnings this year. Daimler said net profit in the first quarter rose to €1.18 billion ($1.75 billion), up from €612 million a year earlier. Daimler's revenue increased by 17% to €24.7 billion, while its closely watched earnings before interest and tax, or Ebit, rose to €2.03 billion from €1.19 billion.
Friday, April 29, 2011
Thursday, April 28, 2011
State of the Union April 28, 2011
April 28, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
As of this writing, there has been $3500 collected for the March of Dimes/March for Babies! This is an all-time high for one shift! Once again this workforce has shown its extraordinary generosity. Thanks for all you do!
From Automotive News: Honda reported a quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates, after Japan vehicle sales dropped and last month's record earthquake disrupted output. The automaker said net income plunged 38 percent to 44.5 billion yen ($545 million) for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31, lower than the 93.8 billion yen average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 2.9 percent to 2.2 trillion yen. Honda and rival Japanese carmakers are working to restore full operations after last month's earthquake and tsunami damaged parts factories and power plants, causing shortages of components and electricity. Honda said earlier this week it expects its global output to return to normal levels by the end of the year. "Even if production comes back, sales may not," said Yuuki Sakurai, president at Fukoku Capital Management Inc. in Tokyo. "May sales, June sales may be close to zero as the companies won't have much to sell."
From the Detroit Free Press: Chrysler said today it intends to pay off its $7.5 billion in government loans by selling new debt, an investment from Fiat and a new loan agreement with institutional investors. The Auburn Hills-based automaker said it plans to use the proceeds of the term loan and the debt offering, with the $1.27 billion that Fiatsaid it would invest in Chrysler last week to acquire an additional 16% in Chrysler to pay off the government loans. Chrysler owes $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $1.7 billion to the Canadian governments as part of a 2009 restructuring that allowed it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chrysler said today it plans to complete the repayment by the end of June. Fiat currently owns 30% of Chrysler. The company did not break down the amount of money it is seeking to borrow or say how much new debt it plans to issue through securities. Marchionne has said he wants to refinance Chrysler’s debt because the interest rate is higher than commercial market rates. The effective interest on the borrowings from the U.S. is as high as 14% and as much as 20% on the Canadian debt.
From the Wall Street Journal: Hyundai Motor Co. posted a 47% jump in first-quarter net profit, giving the world's fifth-largest auto maker sales a strong start to a year that's expected to see strong growth both from its U.S. push and from weakness among quake-hit Japanese rivals. First-quarter net profit jumped to 1.877 trillion South Korean won (about $1.75 billion) from 1.281 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement Thursday. Operating profit climbed 46% from a year earlier to 1.828 trillion won from 1.256 trillion won, while sales rose 21% to 18.233 trillion won from 15.021 trillion won. Operating profit margin rose to 10% in the first quarter from 8.2% a year earlier.
As of this writing, there has been $3500 collected for the March of Dimes/March for Babies! This is an all-time high for one shift! Once again this workforce has shown its extraordinary generosity. Thanks for all you do!
From Automotive News: Honda reported a quarterly profit that missed analysts' estimates, after Japan vehicle sales dropped and last month's record earthquake disrupted output. The automaker said net income plunged 38 percent to 44.5 billion yen ($545 million) for the fiscal fourth quarter that ended March 31, lower than the 93.8 billion yen average of analysts' estimates compiled by Bloomberg. Sales fell 2.9 percent to 2.2 trillion yen. Honda and rival Japanese carmakers are working to restore full operations after last month's earthquake and tsunami damaged parts factories and power plants, causing shortages of components and electricity. Honda said earlier this week it expects its global output to return to normal levels by the end of the year. "Even if production comes back, sales may not," said Yuuki Sakurai, president at Fukoku Capital Management Inc. in Tokyo. "May sales, June sales may be close to zero as the companies won't have much to sell."
From the Detroit Free Press: Chrysler said today it intends to pay off its $7.5 billion in government loans by selling new debt, an investment from Fiat and a new loan agreement with institutional investors. The Auburn Hills-based automaker said it plans to use the proceeds of the term loan and the debt offering, with the $1.27 billion that Fiatsaid it would invest in Chrysler last week to acquire an additional 16% in Chrysler to pay off the government loans. Chrysler owes $5.8 billion to the U.S. Treasury and $1.7 billion to the Canadian governments as part of a 2009 restructuring that allowed it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. Chrysler said today it plans to complete the repayment by the end of June. Fiat currently owns 30% of Chrysler. The company did not break down the amount of money it is seeking to borrow or say how much new debt it plans to issue through securities. Marchionne has said he wants to refinance Chrysler’s debt because the interest rate is higher than commercial market rates. The effective interest on the borrowings from the U.S. is as high as 14% and as much as 20% on the Canadian debt.
From the Wall Street Journal: Hyundai Motor Co. posted a 47% jump in first-quarter net profit, giving the world's fifth-largest auto maker sales a strong start to a year that's expected to see strong growth both from its U.S. push and from weakness among quake-hit Japanese rivals. First-quarter net profit jumped to 1.877 trillion South Korean won (about $1.75 billion) from 1.281 trillion won a year earlier, the company said in a statement Thursday. Operating profit climbed 46% from a year earlier to 1.828 trillion won from 1.256 trillion won, while sales rose 21% to 18.233 trillion won from 15.021 trillion won. Operating profit margin rose to 10% in the first quarter from 8.2% a year earlier.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
State of the Union April 26, 2011
April 26, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
There will be gate drives this Thursday, April 28 to raise funds for the March of Dimes/March for Babies. Your donations will be put to use helping to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. This year’s co-captains are Tina Hays (stamping) and Mike Danielson (paint).
From the Detroit Free Press: Ford earned $2.6 billion in the first three months of 2011, a 22.4% improvement over a year earlier, as U.S. sales increased on the strength of small and midsize carsand cost-cutting in Europe resulted in a modest operating profit. The Dearborn automaker’s net income of 61 cents per share beat the 50 cents per share consensus forecast of about 20 Wall Street analysts and marked Ford'smost profitable first-quarter in 13 years. In 2010's first quarter Ford made $2.1 billion, or 46 cents per share. But the bulk of the improvement came in North America, where Ford's operating profit, before taxes, rose 49% to $1.8 billion. TrueCar.com, a market research firm, reported that the average Ford vehicle sold for $31,862 in March, or $541 higher than the year-earlier average of $31,321. Ford's share of the U.S. new vehicle market slipped to 16% from 16.5% in the first quarter of 2010. The phase-out of the Mercury brand was a major contributing factor to the decline.
There are dire predictions about power shortages this summer in Japan, and officials are entertaining many different suggestions from competing groups. One such idea, as reported by the Automotive News, is quite simple – unplug all of the Coke vending machines. Apparently they are more ubiquitous in Japan than they are here. James Treece writes, “Some studies show that each 24-hour vending machine requires very nearly as much electricity as the average Japanese household (which also says something about the size of the average Japanese home)…. The conventional wisdom is that Japan’s vending machines as a whole require the equivalent of five Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants’ full output.”
From CNBC: AutoNation, the largest U.S. auto dealership group, expects slower growth in U.S. auto sales this year, with Detroit automakers taking a larger share of the market at the expense of their Japanese rivals. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based dealership group cut its full-year industry wide U.S. sales forecast from 12.8 million vehicles to the mid-12 million range. Chief Executive Mike Jackson said he expects parts shortages and production delays to cut output from Japanese automakers by 600,000 to 700,000 vehicles this year. Jackson said it was not clear whether Detroit automakers would be able to make up for that shortfall because of their own difficulty in sourcing crucial parts from Japan, but he forecast that General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler would gain market share.
There will be gate drives this Thursday, April 28 to raise funds for the March of Dimes/March for Babies. Your donations will be put to use helping to improve the health of babies by preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. This year’s co-captains are Tina Hays (stamping) and Mike Danielson (paint).
From the Detroit Free Press: Ford earned $2.6 billion in the first three months of 2011, a 22.4% improvement over a year earlier, as U.S. sales increased on the strength of small and midsize carsand cost-cutting in Europe resulted in a modest operating profit. The Dearborn automaker’s net income of 61 cents per share beat the 50 cents per share consensus forecast of about 20 Wall Street analysts and marked Ford'smost profitable first-quarter in 13 years. In 2010's first quarter Ford made $2.1 billion, or 46 cents per share. But the bulk of the improvement came in North America, where Ford's operating profit, before taxes, rose 49% to $1.8 billion. TrueCar.com, a market research firm, reported that the average Ford vehicle sold for $31,862 in March, or $541 higher than the year-earlier average of $31,321. Ford's share of the U.S. new vehicle market slipped to 16% from 16.5% in the first quarter of 2010. The phase-out of the Mercury brand was a major contributing factor to the decline.
There are dire predictions about power shortages this summer in Japan, and officials are entertaining many different suggestions from competing groups. One such idea, as reported by the Automotive News, is quite simple – unplug all of the Coke vending machines. Apparently they are more ubiquitous in Japan than they are here. James Treece writes, “Some studies show that each 24-hour vending machine requires very nearly as much electricity as the average Japanese household (which also says something about the size of the average Japanese home)…. The conventional wisdom is that Japan’s vending machines as a whole require the equivalent of five Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plants’ full output.”
From CNBC: AutoNation, the largest U.S. auto dealership group, expects slower growth in U.S. auto sales this year, with Detroit automakers taking a larger share of the market at the expense of their Japanese rivals. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida-based dealership group cut its full-year industry wide U.S. sales forecast from 12.8 million vehicles to the mid-12 million range. Chief Executive Mike Jackson said he expects parts shortages and production delays to cut output from Japanese automakers by 600,000 to 700,000 vehicles this year. Jackson said it was not clear whether Detroit automakers would be able to make up for that shortfall because of their own difficulty in sourcing crucial parts from Japan, but he forecast that General Motors, Ford Motor and Chrysler would gain market share.
State of the Union April 25, 2011
April 25, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Wards Auto: General Motors is in good shape with its manufacturing footprint in the U.S., says Mark Reuss, president-North America, giving little indication the auto maker plans to reopen any idled facilities in the near future. GM has two major assembly plants on standby in Janesville, WI, and Spring Hill, TN. Much of their tooling remains intact, giving the auto maker the option to bring them back online quickly if extra capacity is needed. GM’s production was up nearly 18% in the region, pushing its capacity utilization over 100%. Generally, auto makers want to build close to – or beyond – 100% capacity to maximize profitability. Some GM plants operate over that benchmark and some below, depending on the vehicles they build.
From the Wall Street Journal: A disruption to parts supply chains following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month resulted in domestic production at Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. plummeting by more than half in March. Although March is usually the biggest production month—as book closing usually prompts dealerships to make a last-ditch effort to sell as many vehicles as possible—this didn't prevent a sharp fall in output. According to figures released Monday, Toyota's domestic output fell by 63% from a year earlier, Nissan's production dropped 52%, and Honda's fell 63%. Japan's top three car manufacturers are currently operating their domestic factories at half of planned or normal production rates. The ongoing difficulties with parts supplies means it's hard for them to make any certain long-term predictions about when the situation will improve. Honda, Japan's third-biggest car maker by volume, said Monday its plants in Japan will remain at 50% of its pre-quake production plan until the end of June, and output levels after July are uncertain. That follows the outlook outlined by Toyota last Friday that its output won't be back to normal at least until November. "We are restoring operations. But continuing aftershocks sometimes undo our work. We are repeating this over and over again. That makes it hard to foresee" accurately when operations will return to pre-quake levels, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference last Friday. Toyota is still unable to source 150 types of parts from quake-hit plants more than a month after the quake hit March 11.
From Automotive News: Nissan recalled nearly 271,000 older-model Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs in North America due to the chance that road salt and water could collect to cause a loss of steering, U.S. safety regulators said. Affected in the United States and Canada are about 225,650 Pathfinders from model years 1996 to 2004 and about 45,330 Infiniti QX4 SUVs from model years 1997 to 2003. The recall affects Pathfinders and QX4s in Canada and 20 cold-weather U.S. states where road salt is used to keep roads clear of snow and ice. Road salt and melted snow can collect in the strut housing and may cause corrosion that could lead to difficulty in steering and even loss of steering, which could cause a crash, regulators said.
From the New York Times: More than three years after Toyota first learned that its curtain-shield air bags could deploy without a crash, the automaker is recalling almost 308,000 sport utility vehicles. The recall covers about 214,000 RAV4s from the 2007-8 model years and 94,000 Highlander and Highlander hybrids from 2008, the automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday. N.H.T.S.A. has eight complaints on its Web site from owners reporting inadvertent deployments, but the safety agency never began an investigation. Five of those complaints were filed last year. “I turned the ignition on and the side air bags on both sides exploded,” one owner told the agency. “It felt like someone had put a bomb in my car.” In its report, Toyota said it learned of the problem in 2007 and discovered it was caused by a short circuit in two sensors. The automaker said it changed the sensor design in January 2008. Despite the change, Toyota said it continued to receive reports of deployments, including some that caused minor injuries. Toyota did not consider the problem worthy of a recall because for the air curtain to deploy without a crash, it would require two short circuits to “occur nearly simultaneously after the initial air bag check.”
• From the Detroit News: Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into 370,000 Jeep Liberty vehicles over corrosion issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a notice posted Friday it is reviewing the 2002-2005 Jeep Liberty after receiving nine complaints about rear control arms failing due to excessive corrosion. Two of the complaints alleged the failure occurred at speeds of 50 mph or greater. Three complaints alleged that the failure resulted in a loss of vehicle control. This is the third NHTSA probe into corrosion issues on Jeep Liberty vehicles. In November 2003, the DaimlerChrysler recalled 336,000 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty SUVS because some experienced a loss of lubrication that led to corrosion of the lower control arm ball joints. In some instances, drivers lost control of vehicles. In August 2006, DaimlerChrysler recalled 825,000 2002-2006 Jeep Liberty SUVs over the same issue after NHTSA had opened an investigation. The automaker again replaced lower ball joints because they could be corroded and lead to a possible separation causing a loss of control. Three years later in April 2009, Chrysler LLC recalled 42,469 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty for corrosion issues in 22 cold-weather "salt belt" states to address upper ball joint separation issues, including Michigan. That followed at least five reports of incidents at speeds of 40 miles or greater. NHTSA closed its 18-month-old investigation after Chrysler announced the recall
From Wards Auto: General Motors is in good shape with its manufacturing footprint in the U.S., says Mark Reuss, president-North America, giving little indication the auto maker plans to reopen any idled facilities in the near future. GM has two major assembly plants on standby in Janesville, WI, and Spring Hill, TN. Much of their tooling remains intact, giving the auto maker the option to bring them back online quickly if extra capacity is needed. GM’s production was up nearly 18% in the region, pushing its capacity utilization over 100%. Generally, auto makers want to build close to – or beyond – 100% capacity to maximize profitability. Some GM plants operate over that benchmark and some below, depending on the vehicles they build.
From the Wall Street Journal: A disruption to parts supply chains following the earthquake and tsunami in Japan last month resulted in domestic production at Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. plummeting by more than half in March. Although March is usually the biggest production month—as book closing usually prompts dealerships to make a last-ditch effort to sell as many vehicles as possible—this didn't prevent a sharp fall in output. According to figures released Monday, Toyota's domestic output fell by 63% from a year earlier, Nissan's production dropped 52%, and Honda's fell 63%. Japan's top three car manufacturers are currently operating their domestic factories at half of planned or normal production rates. The ongoing difficulties with parts supplies means it's hard for them to make any certain long-term predictions about when the situation will improve. Honda, Japan's third-biggest car maker by volume, said Monday its plants in Japan will remain at 50% of its pre-quake production plan until the end of June, and output levels after July are uncertain. That follows the outlook outlined by Toyota last Friday that its output won't be back to normal at least until November. "We are restoring operations. But continuing aftershocks sometimes undo our work. We are repeating this over and over again. That makes it hard to foresee" accurately when operations will return to pre-quake levels, Toyota President Akio Toyoda said at a press conference last Friday. Toyota is still unable to source 150 types of parts from quake-hit plants more than a month after the quake hit March 11.
From Automotive News: Nissan recalled nearly 271,000 older-model Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 SUVs in North America due to the chance that road salt and water could collect to cause a loss of steering, U.S. safety regulators said. Affected in the United States and Canada are about 225,650 Pathfinders from model years 1996 to 2004 and about 45,330 Infiniti QX4 SUVs from model years 1997 to 2003. The recall affects Pathfinders and QX4s in Canada and 20 cold-weather U.S. states where road salt is used to keep roads clear of snow and ice. Road salt and melted snow can collect in the strut housing and may cause corrosion that could lead to difficulty in steering and even loss of steering, which could cause a crash, regulators said.
From the New York Times: More than three years after Toyota first learned that its curtain-shield air bags could deploy without a crash, the automaker is recalling almost 308,000 sport utility vehicles. The recall covers about 214,000 RAV4s from the 2007-8 model years and 94,000 Highlander and Highlander hybrids from 2008, the automaker informed the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on Thursday. N.H.T.S.A. has eight complaints on its Web site from owners reporting inadvertent deployments, but the safety agency never began an investigation. Five of those complaints were filed last year. “I turned the ignition on and the side air bags on both sides exploded,” one owner told the agency. “It felt like someone had put a bomb in my car.” In its report, Toyota said it learned of the problem in 2007 and discovered it was caused by a short circuit in two sensors. The automaker said it changed the sensor design in January 2008. Despite the change, Toyota said it continued to receive reports of deployments, including some that caused minor injuries. Toyota did not consider the problem worthy of a recall because for the air curtain to deploy without a crash, it would require two short circuits to “occur nearly simultaneously after the initial air bag check.”
• From the Detroit News: Federal safety regulators have opened an investigation into 370,000 Jeep Liberty vehicles over corrosion issues. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a notice posted Friday it is reviewing the 2002-2005 Jeep Liberty after receiving nine complaints about rear control arms failing due to excessive corrosion. Two of the complaints alleged the failure occurred at speeds of 50 mph or greater. Three complaints alleged that the failure resulted in a loss of vehicle control. This is the third NHTSA probe into corrosion issues on Jeep Liberty vehicles. In November 2003, the DaimlerChrysler recalled 336,000 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty SUVS because some experienced a loss of lubrication that led to corrosion of the lower control arm ball joints. In some instances, drivers lost control of vehicles. In August 2006, DaimlerChrysler recalled 825,000 2002-2006 Jeep Liberty SUVs over the same issue after NHTSA had opened an investigation. The automaker again replaced lower ball joints because they could be corroded and lead to a possible separation causing a loss of control. Three years later in April 2009, Chrysler LLC recalled 42,469 2002-2003 Jeep Liberty for corrosion issues in 22 cold-weather "salt belt" states to address upper ball joint separation issues, including Michigan. That followed at least five reports of incidents at speeds of 40 miles or greater. NHTSA closed its 18-month-old investigation after Chrysler announced the recall
Thursday, April 21, 2011
State of the Union April 19, 2011
April 19, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: With the alternative work schedule agreement we operate under, Fridays can be scheduled two on and one off and Saturdays are strictly voluntary.
Union Meeting is this Wednesday, April 20 at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
From UAW Region 5: Gas prices have been spiking for weeks and $4 gas is quickly becoming a reality across the nation. We need to make a concerted effort to have our active and retired members, their families and friends write, email or call their US Senators and Representatives and ask them why they are not speaking out for us on high gas prices and tell them that they and their colleagues in Congress must stand up for us. Call the Capitol switchboard at (866) 338-5720 and ask for your Senator or Representative or go online to www.house.govor www.senate.gov.
There will be 2012 and 2013 pilots going down the line this week and next week. Changes for 2012 include a switch to the 4.8 V8 from the 6.0 for the base engine in the one-ton passenger van. Unloaded vehicle weight range (uvwr) will increase on diesel and gas cargo vans and there will be various software and calibration upgrades to the powertrain. For 2013, a backup camera with display in the rearview mirror will be available as well as backup sensor in the rear bumper. Also optional will a radio with built-in navigation system. The 177” wheelbase cutaway will top out at 14,200 gross vehicle weight range (gvwr) and the 159” cutaway goes up to 10,600 gvwr, which should expand the market for these cutaways.
From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. (GM), the largest U.S. automaker, will raise prices by an average of $123, or 0.4 percent, per vehicle because of higher commodity costs. The price increases will be on most models in the U.S. and will be effective May 2, Tom Henderson, a spokesman for GM, said in a telephone interview. The move isn’t related to the Japan earthquake, he said. GM is following Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in boosting prices. Ford said April 4 it would raise prices by $117, or 0.4 percent. Toyota’s increase on most models averaged 1.7 percent, the automaker said March 31. Industry price increases are common as automakers enter seasonally stronger months for sales in the spring and summer, said They will be supported this year by parts shortages resulting from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami, she said. “Auto companies even before the tsunami have not been able to meet their production targets,” said Maryann Keller, principal of a self-titled consulting firm, in a telephone interview. “They’ll get away with a price increase because there just isn’t a huge supply of vehicles out there to result in a great amount of discounting.”
From the Detroit Free Press: Through March, Camaro has sold 19,972 cars to Mustang's 15,419. The Dodge Challenger is gaining steam but still a distant third, with 9,742 sales. In 2010, the Camaro outsold the Mustang for the first time since 1985. During the first two months of 2011, GM outspent most other automakers in the industry with its incentives. But according to Edmunds.com, the average incentive on the Camaro fell from $1,016 in January to $410 in March. The Mustang, meanwhile, was offering an average of $1,662 in January and increased its incentives to $2,081 in March. Those incentives contributed to a 46.8% sales surge in March to 8,557 Mustangs. Still, the Camaro finished the month ahead after selling 8,964.
From the Wall Street Journal: The U.S. government plans to sell a significant share of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. this summer despite the disappointing performance of the auto maker's stock, people familiar with the matter said. A sale within the next several months would almost certainly mean U.S. taxpayers will take a loss on their $50 billion rescue of the Detroit auto maker in 2009. To break even, the U.S. Treasury would need to sell its remaining stake—about 500 million shares—at $53 apiece. GM closed off 27 cents a share at $29.97 in 4 p.m. trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new low since its $33-a-share November initial public offering. "Planning for the sale of our remaining GM stock is still at an early stage, and the IPO lock-up does not expire until late May," a Treasury spokesperson said. "At that point, we will consider all of our options, based on our twin goals of protecting taxpayers' interests and exiting as soon as practicable." Shares have been hurt by rising fuel prices, industry production disruptions and management turnover. At Monday's price, and taking into account shares sold during the IPO, taxpayers would lose more than $11 billion on the rescue if the government dumped the rest of its stake now.
From the Detroit News: Nissan Motor Co. will reprogram software in 5,300 electric Leaf cars after some drivers complained they had trouble starting the vehicle. The company said the reprogramming will start next week. The company hasn't disclosed how many complaints it has received. Nissan said it has no plans to recall the vehicle. "This is not a safety issue as the vehicle will not stop running while being driven (unless, of course, you run out of juice), but may not restart once it is turned off," the company said.
More Detroit News: Federal safety regulators have upgraded an investigation into nearly 150,000 Honda CR-V SUVs over reports of smoke and fire occurring inside the driver's door. The probe covers 149,583 2006 Honda CR-Vs and focused on melting or burning of the master power window switch and related electrical system wiring components The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded its preliminary investigation opened last year to an engineering analysis. In November, NHTSA opened the initial investigation based on three reports alleging smoke and fire that occurred inside the driver's door. The complaints reported that the master power window switch — and in some cases its wiring harness — had sustained heat related damage and required replacement. Since opening the investigation, NHTSA has received two additional reports. Honda has received 24 other separate complaints related to the issue. Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, said the automaker will continue to cooperate with NHTSA. "Honda is continuing to analyze this but we've not yet reached any conclusions," he said.
From Chairman Mike Bullock: With the alternative work schedule agreement we operate under, Fridays can be scheduled two on and one off and Saturdays are strictly voluntary.
Union Meeting is this Wednesday, April 20 at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
From UAW Region 5: Gas prices have been spiking for weeks and $4 gas is quickly becoming a reality across the nation. We need to make a concerted effort to have our active and retired members, their families and friends write, email or call their US Senators and Representatives and ask them why they are not speaking out for us on high gas prices and tell them that they and their colleagues in Congress must stand up for us. Call the Capitol switchboard at (866) 338-5720 and ask for your Senator or Representative or go online to www.house.govor www.senate.gov.
There will be 2012 and 2013 pilots going down the line this week and next week. Changes for 2012 include a switch to the 4.8 V8 from the 6.0 for the base engine in the one-ton passenger van. Unloaded vehicle weight range (uvwr) will increase on diesel and gas cargo vans and there will be various software and calibration upgrades to the powertrain. For 2013, a backup camera with display in the rearview mirror will be available as well as backup sensor in the rear bumper. Also optional will a radio with built-in navigation system. The 177” wheelbase cutaway will top out at 14,200 gross vehicle weight range (gvwr) and the 159” cutaway goes up to 10,600 gvwr, which should expand the market for these cutaways.
From Bloomberg: General Motors Co. (GM), the largest U.S. automaker, will raise prices by an average of $123, or 0.4 percent, per vehicle because of higher commodity costs. The price increases will be on most models in the U.S. and will be effective May 2, Tom Henderson, a spokesman for GM, said in a telephone interview. The move isn’t related to the Japan earthquake, he said. GM is following Toyota Motor Corp. and Ford Motor Co. in boosting prices. Ford said April 4 it would raise prices by $117, or 0.4 percent. Toyota’s increase on most models averaged 1.7 percent, the automaker said March 31. Industry price increases are common as automakers enter seasonally stronger months for sales in the spring and summer, said They will be supported this year by parts shortages resulting from the March 11 Japan earthquake and tsunami, she said. “Auto companies even before the tsunami have not been able to meet their production targets,” said Maryann Keller, principal of a self-titled consulting firm, in a telephone interview. “They’ll get away with a price increase because there just isn’t a huge supply of vehicles out there to result in a great amount of discounting.”
From the Detroit Free Press: Through March, Camaro has sold 19,972 cars to Mustang's 15,419. The Dodge Challenger is gaining steam but still a distant third, with 9,742 sales. In 2010, the Camaro outsold the Mustang for the first time since 1985. During the first two months of 2011, GM outspent most other automakers in the industry with its incentives. But according to Edmunds.com, the average incentive on the Camaro fell from $1,016 in January to $410 in March. The Mustang, meanwhile, was offering an average of $1,662 in January and increased its incentives to $2,081 in March. Those incentives contributed to a 46.8% sales surge in March to 8,557 Mustangs. Still, the Camaro finished the month ahead after selling 8,964.
From the Wall Street Journal: The U.S. government plans to sell a significant share of its remaining stake in General Motors Co. this summer despite the disappointing performance of the auto maker's stock, people familiar with the matter said. A sale within the next several months would almost certainly mean U.S. taxpayers will take a loss on their $50 billion rescue of the Detroit auto maker in 2009. To break even, the U.S. Treasury would need to sell its remaining stake—about 500 million shares—at $53 apiece. GM closed off 27 cents a share at $29.97 in 4 p.m. trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange, hitting a new low since its $33-a-share November initial public offering. "Planning for the sale of our remaining GM stock is still at an early stage, and the IPO lock-up does not expire until late May," a Treasury spokesperson said. "At that point, we will consider all of our options, based on our twin goals of protecting taxpayers' interests and exiting as soon as practicable." Shares have been hurt by rising fuel prices, industry production disruptions and management turnover. At Monday's price, and taking into account shares sold during the IPO, taxpayers would lose more than $11 billion on the rescue if the government dumped the rest of its stake now.
From the Detroit News: Nissan Motor Co. will reprogram software in 5,300 electric Leaf cars after some drivers complained they had trouble starting the vehicle. The company said the reprogramming will start next week. The company hasn't disclosed how many complaints it has received. Nissan said it has no plans to recall the vehicle. "This is not a safety issue as the vehicle will not stop running while being driven (unless, of course, you run out of juice), but may not restart once it is turned off," the company said.
More Detroit News: Federal safety regulators have upgraded an investigation into nearly 150,000 Honda CR-V SUVs over reports of smoke and fire occurring inside the driver's door. The probe covers 149,583 2006 Honda CR-Vs and focused on melting or burning of the master power window switch and related electrical system wiring components The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has upgraded its preliminary investigation opened last year to an engineering analysis. In November, NHTSA opened the initial investigation based on three reports alleging smoke and fire that occurred inside the driver's door. The complaints reported that the master power window switch — and in some cases its wiring harness — had sustained heat related damage and required replacement. Since opening the investigation, NHTSA has received two additional reports. Honda has received 24 other separate complaints related to the issue. Chris Martin, a Honda spokesman, said the automaker will continue to cooperate with NHTSA. "Honda is continuing to analyze this but we've not yet reached any conclusions," he said.
Tuesday, April 19, 2011
State of the Union April 18, 2011
April 18, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: Welcome back to the four members who were recalled today. One member – Dawn Loeffler – has yet to be contacted.
Union Meeting is this Wednesday, April 20 at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
Earthquake update: As inventories of Japanese products continue to dry up, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have warned U.S. dealers: Full deliveries from Japan likely won't arrive until July at the earliest, and perhaps as late as September, according to Automotive News. Parts shortages have forced Toyota and Nissan to prepare scenarios in which full production in Japan wouldn't begin until at least 30 to 90 days after the country's upcoming holiday break, said people who have been briefed on the situation. In the best scenario, both automakers will begin full production a month after Japan's Golden Week holiday ending May 9. But Nissan and Toyota have told dealers that if the automakers can't find alternatives for parts, they might not start full production until 90 days after Golden Week. Nissan North America told dealers it is scheduled to receive only 7,500 units in May from Japan and Mexico, down from 40,000 in March. "We're going to get basically nothing," said Bob Page, owner of Page Toyota in Southfield, Mich. "Whatever inventory we have, let's say it carries us 60 days. We'll be pretty much out of product at the end of May." Jay Biggerstaff, general manager at Crown Honda in Pinellas Park, Fla., says vehicle carriers that usually bring 30 units at a time to his dealership now deliver about 10. Since the earthquake in Japan, used-vehicle prices have become so volatile that price experts are scrambling to keep up. Prices rose so quickly in March that NADA Used Car Guide, for the first time, had to update its monthly print guide with an electronic advisory. Its April print guide was completed in early March, before the March 11 quake. NADA Used Car Guide predicts that with incentives scheduled to expire and some automakers announcing sticker-price increases, average transaction prices on new compact cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus will climb about $850 by the end of June. That in turn will add at least $650 to the price of a typical three-year-old compact by July 1.
From Chairman Mike Bullock: Welcome back to the four members who were recalled today. One member – Dawn Loeffler – has yet to be contacted.
Union Meeting is this Wednesday, April 20 at 1 pm, 3 pm and 15 minutes after the longest first shift line time.
Earthquake update: As inventories of Japanese products continue to dry up, Toyota Motor Corp. and Nissan Motor Co. have warned U.S. dealers: Full deliveries from Japan likely won't arrive until July at the earliest, and perhaps as late as September, according to Automotive News. Parts shortages have forced Toyota and Nissan to prepare scenarios in which full production in Japan wouldn't begin until at least 30 to 90 days after the country's upcoming holiday break, said people who have been briefed on the situation. In the best scenario, both automakers will begin full production a month after Japan's Golden Week holiday ending May 9. But Nissan and Toyota have told dealers that if the automakers can't find alternatives for parts, they might not start full production until 90 days after Golden Week. Nissan North America told dealers it is scheduled to receive only 7,500 units in May from Japan and Mexico, down from 40,000 in March. "We're going to get basically nothing," said Bob Page, owner of Page Toyota in Southfield, Mich. "Whatever inventory we have, let's say it carries us 60 days. We'll be pretty much out of product at the end of May." Jay Biggerstaff, general manager at Crown Honda in Pinellas Park, Fla., says vehicle carriers that usually bring 30 units at a time to his dealership now deliver about 10. Since the earthquake in Japan, used-vehicle prices have become so volatile that price experts are scrambling to keep up. Prices rose so quickly in March that NADA Used Car Guide, for the first time, had to update its monthly print guide with an electronic advisory. Its April print guide was completed in early March, before the March 11 quake. NADA Used Car Guide predicts that with incentives scheduled to expire and some automakers announcing sticker-price increases, average transaction prices on new compact cars such as the Honda Civic, Toyota Corolla and Ford Focus will climb about $850 by the end of June. That in turn will add at least $650 to the price of a typical three-year-old compact by July 1.
Friday, April 15, 2011
State of the Union April 15, 2011
April 15, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From Chairman Mike Bullock: There will be 5 more employees recalled from layoff on Monday April 18th. This will leave 73 still on lay off.
From Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. and U.S. safety regulators have agreed to a greatly expanded recall of the best-selling vehicle in North America, the Ford F-150 pickup truck. The recall is for a possible short circuit that could cause airbags to deploy unexpectedly and involves nearly 1.2 million F-150s and some Lincoln Mark LT vehicles, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers F-150s from the 2004 to 2006 model years. Previously, 144,000 of the pickup trucks were recalled. The expansion comes after talks between the automaker and safety regulators in Washington. In February, Ford said in a response to safety regulators, "the condition does not present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety" but agreed to the recall of 144,000 F-150s. Today, Ford said it maintains its previous statement on the issue not being an "unreasonable risk," but agreed to the expanded recall "to reassure customers of Ford's commitment to safety and to eliminate any possible customer confusion."
Here are some comments from two AutoWeek editors who drove the Toyota Camry: ASSOCIATE EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Getting into a Camry really puts things in perspective. Just think about it. This is what a large portion of the general public flocks to when it comes time to purchase a new car (most likely to replace an old white or beige Camry), and that's just sad….Basically, the Camry has a PhD in mediocrity. Everything from the drivetrain, ride quality, steering, cabin materials to the fit and finish are all middle of the road….There's nothing here to make the Camry noteworthy. Everything is just OK, which is something this carhas actually been praised for in the past. I mean, come on! Praised for just being adequate in the most competitive segment on the market? Not on my watch; EDITOR WES RAYNAL: Friends of my mother-in-law buy a new Camry every few years. I once asked them why they buy Camrys, and I received blank stares. You would have thought I asked them why they buy a GE toaster instead of a KitchenAid. I half expected one to turn to the other and say, "We drive a what?"….. It is an appliance. It is competent. It is achingly dull….It gets the job done, going about its business with zero passion or flair--no more no less….The steering is barely that; slow with no communication back to the driver. The brakes are average. The whole car is, in fact. It's the proverbial C student, and the price on this XLE with all the options is laughably high.($35,267)
Having had to truck their Nissan Leaf cross-country to reach their Connecticut headquarters, Consumer Reports boldly allowed tester Jon Linkov (he actually volunteered) to drive the vehicle home and then to work the next day. Told the range was 60 miles, he felt there would be no problems given his 46 mile commute. As he writes, “You can imagine where this is going”. On his 22.8 mile commute home he “stayed planted in the right-hand lane on the highway in an attempt to avoid impeding traffic flow.” He continues, “During the trip I kept the climate system on the lowest fan setting, with the A/C off, and didn't use the headlights, wipers, or radio. I didn't even charge my cell phone. I tried ECO mode a few times, but the effect is a slight gain in promised range in return for an experience akin to towing a large parachute through molasses.” He arrived with 31 miles left on the charge. Since CR is keeping strict tabs on energy consumption for the Leaf, charging is only allowed at their facility. But he had 9 more miles of range than he needed. What could go wrong? Lonkov writes, “Unlike the previous day, however, the weather was a chilly 42 degrees and pouring rain. I set the headlights on auto, the front wipers on their slowest intermittent setting, and the heat at 68 degrees with the rear-defroster off. After driving the 1.2 miles to daycare, the indicated range had plummeted from 31 down to 22 miles. Nine miles of range dropped in just 1.2 miles of actual driving! Getting on the highway, I knew there was no chance I could drive the Leaf "normally" and hope to make it to work. So I started driving in a self-imposed "running out of gas" mode: steady and slow. At some points I was driving at or just under 50 mph on the highway—below the speed limit and well below the speed of other cars. While I turned the climate system completely off at times, window fogging and general cold temperatures mandated use of the heat and front defroster. About 17 miles from startup, the potential range indicator had become three blinking dashes. I realized I was not going to make it to work, and decided to get off the highway. As I exited the Leaf entered "Turtle" mode, complete with a small, green turtle indicator light. I proceeded to limp the next 1.3 miles into town. The final humiliation came when a highway department mower passedme.”
From the Detroit Free Press: Ford is in the process of laying off nearly 200 temporary workers at the its Dearborn Truck Plant where the Ford F-150 is built. About 120 temporary, or long-term supplemental, employees were laid off between April 7 and April 10 and are not being replaced. Those employees started working at the plant last fall to help Ford launch the 2011 F-150 and were told the assignment would only last a few months, said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans. Another 70 to 80 temporary employees will be laid off in the coming weeks, she said. Those employees are being replaced with permanent workers Ford is relocating from parts plants that previously were part of Visteon and then brought back into Ford several years ago.
From Chairman Mike Bullock: There will be 5 more employees recalled from layoff on Monday April 18th. This will leave 73 still on lay off.
From Automotive News: Ford Motor Co. and U.S. safety regulators have agreed to a greatly expanded recall of the best-selling vehicle in North America, the Ford F-150 pickup truck. The recall is for a possible short circuit that could cause airbags to deploy unexpectedly and involves nearly 1.2 million F-150s and some Lincoln Mark LT vehicles, said the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The recall covers F-150s from the 2004 to 2006 model years. Previously, 144,000 of the pickup trucks were recalled. The expansion comes after talks between the automaker and safety regulators in Washington. In February, Ford said in a response to safety regulators, "the condition does not present an unreasonable risk to motor vehicle safety" but agreed to the recall of 144,000 F-150s. Today, Ford said it maintains its previous statement on the issue not being an "unreasonable risk," but agreed to the expanded recall "to reassure customers of Ford's commitment to safety and to eliminate any possible customer confusion."
Here are some comments from two AutoWeek editors who drove the Toyota Camry: ASSOCIATE EDITOR JONATHAN WONG: Getting into a Camry really puts things in perspective. Just think about it. This is what a large portion of the general public flocks to when it comes time to purchase a new car (most likely to replace an old white or beige Camry), and that's just sad….Basically, the Camry has a PhD in mediocrity. Everything from the drivetrain, ride quality, steering, cabin materials to the fit and finish are all middle of the road….There's nothing here to make the Camry noteworthy. Everything is just OK, which is something this carhas actually been praised for in the past. I mean, come on! Praised for just being adequate in the most competitive segment on the market? Not on my watch; EDITOR WES RAYNAL: Friends of my mother-in-law buy a new Camry every few years. I once asked them why they buy Camrys, and I received blank stares. You would have thought I asked them why they buy a GE toaster instead of a KitchenAid. I half expected one to turn to the other and say, "We drive a what?"….. It is an appliance. It is competent. It is achingly dull….It gets the job done, going about its business with zero passion or flair--no more no less….The steering is barely that; slow with no communication back to the driver. The brakes are average. The whole car is, in fact. It's the proverbial C student, and the price on this XLE with all the options is laughably high.($35,267)
Having had to truck their Nissan Leaf cross-country to reach their Connecticut headquarters, Consumer Reports boldly allowed tester Jon Linkov (he actually volunteered) to drive the vehicle home and then to work the next day. Told the range was 60 miles, he felt there would be no problems given his 46 mile commute. As he writes, “You can imagine where this is going”. On his 22.8 mile commute home he “stayed planted in the right-hand lane on the highway in an attempt to avoid impeding traffic flow.” He continues, “During the trip I kept the climate system on the lowest fan setting, with the A/C off, and didn't use the headlights, wipers, or radio. I didn't even charge my cell phone. I tried ECO mode a few times, but the effect is a slight gain in promised range in return for an experience akin to towing a large parachute through molasses.” He arrived with 31 miles left on the charge. Since CR is keeping strict tabs on energy consumption for the Leaf, charging is only allowed at their facility. But he had 9 more miles of range than he needed. What could go wrong? Lonkov writes, “Unlike the previous day, however, the weather was a chilly 42 degrees and pouring rain. I set the headlights on auto, the front wipers on their slowest intermittent setting, and the heat at 68 degrees with the rear-defroster off. After driving the 1.2 miles to daycare, the indicated range had plummeted from 31 down to 22 miles. Nine miles of range dropped in just 1.2 miles of actual driving! Getting on the highway, I knew there was no chance I could drive the Leaf "normally" and hope to make it to work. So I started driving in a self-imposed "running out of gas" mode: steady and slow. At some points I was driving at or just under 50 mph on the highway—below the speed limit and well below the speed of other cars. While I turned the climate system completely off at times, window fogging and general cold temperatures mandated use of the heat and front defroster. About 17 miles from startup, the potential range indicator had become three blinking dashes. I realized I was not going to make it to work, and decided to get off the highway. As I exited the Leaf entered "Turtle" mode, complete with a small, green turtle indicator light. I proceeded to limp the next 1.3 miles into town. The final humiliation came when a highway department mower passedme.”
From the Detroit Free Press: Ford is in the process of laying off nearly 200 temporary workers at the its Dearborn Truck Plant where the Ford F-150 is built. About 120 temporary, or long-term supplemental, employees were laid off between April 7 and April 10 and are not being replaced. Those employees started working at the plant last fall to help Ford launch the 2011 F-150 and were told the assignment would only last a few months, said Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans. Another 70 to 80 temporary employees will be laid off in the coming weeks, she said. Those employees are being replaced with permanent workers Ford is relocating from parts plants that previously were part of Visteon and then brought back into Ford several years ago.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
State of the Union April 12, 2011
April 12, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From the Benefits Dept.: If you haven’t updated your beneficiary information in the last five years, you need to do so. You can also utilize UAW Legal Services to set up wills and trusts free of charge. You can call 636-561-2057 (Lake St. Louis) or 1-800-582-6494 (Sunset Hills).
From Bloomberg: General Motors will start producing its new Chevrolet Malibu sedan four months earlier than planned to hasten the replacement of older models. It will start making the Malibu, its top-selling car last year, next January instead of in May 2012, according to a presentation to suppliers. Michael Albano, a spokesman for Detroit-based GM, confirmed that output of the new Malibu would be moved up. The automaker's CEO, Dan Akerson, is pushing to speed development of new models to fill gaps in GM's product line. Akerson has told top executives to look at pulling ahead some vehicle introductions in the U.S., Stephen Girsky, a GM vice chairman, said in January. GM delayed some new models as it conserved cash around its bankruptcy in 2009, he said. "GM has vehicles that are toward the end of their life cycle that are selling very well," Dave Sullivan, a product analyst at AutoPacific in Troy, said. "It's not necessarily the end of the world if they have a gap, but they are doing what's required to minimize that gap. Malibu is a really important vehicle for GM."
From Automotive News: Production of more than a half million vehicles has been wiped out in Japan since the March 11 earthquake paralyzed the county's manufacturing sector. Japan's big seven automakers lost 516,000 units of output as Japan marked the one month anniversary of the devastating March 11 quake. And the total is still climbing with many plants remaining offline until later this month and those that have restarted operating at only limited capacity due to parts shortages. Toyota Motor Corp. leads the pack with lost volume of 260,000 units at its 18 domestic plants through April 8.
More Automotive News: This spring, U.S. suppliers are going to be hammered by the aftermath of the earthquake that crippled Japan's auto industry. Just in case you have any doubts about this, consider a recent survey of 103 automotive suppliers by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. Seventy-nine of the respondents said they receive parts from Japan. Of those, only 37 percent said their Japanese suppliers had assured them they would meet delivery schedules. One third of the U.S. suppliers have been unable to assure transportation of components out of Japan. And two-thirds said their customers may cut production over the next 45 days. This disaster isn't limited to Japan.
From the Benefits Dept.: If you haven’t updated your beneficiary information in the last five years, you need to do so. You can also utilize UAW Legal Services to set up wills and trusts free of charge. You can call 636-561-2057 (Lake St. Louis) or 1-800-582-6494 (Sunset Hills).
From Bloomberg: General Motors will start producing its new Chevrolet Malibu sedan four months earlier than planned to hasten the replacement of older models. It will start making the Malibu, its top-selling car last year, next January instead of in May 2012, according to a presentation to suppliers. Michael Albano, a spokesman for Detroit-based GM, confirmed that output of the new Malibu would be moved up. The automaker's CEO, Dan Akerson, is pushing to speed development of new models to fill gaps in GM's product line. Akerson has told top executives to look at pulling ahead some vehicle introductions in the U.S., Stephen Girsky, a GM vice chairman, said in January. GM delayed some new models as it conserved cash around its bankruptcy in 2009, he said. "GM has vehicles that are toward the end of their life cycle that are selling very well," Dave Sullivan, a product analyst at AutoPacific in Troy, said. "It's not necessarily the end of the world if they have a gap, but they are doing what's required to minimize that gap. Malibu is a really important vehicle for GM."
From Automotive News: Production of more than a half million vehicles has been wiped out in Japan since the March 11 earthquake paralyzed the county's manufacturing sector. Japan's big seven automakers lost 516,000 units of output as Japan marked the one month anniversary of the devastating March 11 quake. And the total is still climbing with many plants remaining offline until later this month and those that have restarted operating at only limited capacity due to parts shortages. Toyota Motor Corp. leads the pack with lost volume of 260,000 units at its 18 domestic plants through April 8.
More Automotive News: This spring, U.S. suppliers are going to be hammered by the aftermath of the earthquake that crippled Japan's auto industry. Just in case you have any doubts about this, consider a recent survey of 103 automotive suppliers by the Original Equipment Suppliers Association. Seventy-nine of the respondents said they receive parts from Japan. Of those, only 37 percent said their Japanese suppliers had assured them they would meet delivery schedules. One third of the U.S. suppliers have been unable to assure transportation of components out of Japan. And two-thirds said their customers may cut production over the next 45 days. This disaster isn't limited to Japan.
State of the Union April 11, 2011
April 11, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
From the Detroit News: General Motors Co. is recalling 150 permanent workers to its Lansing Delta Township assembly plant to replace laid-off temporary workers, company officials said. About 96 temporary workers lost their jobs as a result of the switch, GM said. Company spokeswoman Sherrie Childers-Arb said the move helps provide jobs for GM's hourly workers laid off from factories that were shuttered. The new openings in Lansing will draw from a pool of about 1,200 hourly workers now on layoff at GM. Several weeks ago, United Auto Workers Vice President Joe Ashton said he expects GM to recall all its laid-off factory workers by September. GM, in January, announced it was adding a third shift and about 750 workers to its Flint assembly plant where it makes heavy-duty pickup trucks. The automaker also expects to add a shift and 600 workers at Lansing Grand River when it starts building a previously announced Cadillac small car.
From Reuters: Nissan Motor Co. has received complaints from owners that its Leaf electric car on occasion fails to start, posing a potential setback for the automaker's goal of promoting zero-emission vehicles. Nissan said on Monday it was looking into the exact cause, which it traced back to the Leaf's air-conditioning unit. Nissan is investigating whether the glitch was in a certain component or the programming, spokesman Toshitake Inoshita said. Nissan plans no recall for now since the issue does not affect safety, but will decide how to proceed after identifying the source of the problem, he said.
From the HattiesburgAmerican: Nissan Motor Co. officials say it's too early to dismiss the initial sales figures as signifying a slow start for its new commercial van. The NV, Nissan's first domestically built light commercial vehicle, has sold 31 units so far this year, 19 of them coming in March, when dealers began receiving shipments of the vehicles, according to the automaker. Production began in January at the automaker's Canton plant. Bill Visnic, an analyst with automotive site Edmunds.com, said the initial sales aren't encouraging.
From the Detroit News: Ford Motor Co. and federal regulators remain in talks over whether the automaker should expand a recall of F-150 pickups over dozens of reports that air bags have deployed without warning. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland said Wednesday that talks are continuing after more than a month — and the agency has been pushing for more vehicles to be called back . In February, the Dearborn automaker said it would recall 135,000 F-150 trucks in the United States over concerns raised by the government that air bags could deploy without warning. That number, however, represents just a fraction of the 1.3 million vehicles that NHTSA asked Ford to recall in a Jan. 26 letter. NHTSA said it has reports of 269 air bag deployments and 98 injuries in 2004-2006 F-150s. Injuries include chipped teeth, fractured arms and burns.
Earthquake update: There are numerous reports of schedule changes and plant closures as well as the temporary startup of some plants in Japan. GM is canceling Friday production this week at Arlington. According to a report from Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, new GM CFO Dan Ammann said General Motors has re-sourced many parts affected by the crisis in Japan but isn't yet out of the woods. Many GM team members are on site at Japanese supplier plants "to assist with restarting/resourcing component production and to ensure that GM is treated fairly vis-à-vis Japanese automakers for share of component inventory," Johnson wrote. GM has completed a "thorough review" of its Tier 1 suppliers and is assessing the situation at smaller suppliers, Johnson wrote. The supply of semiconductors is a key concern, but GM turned up "no major issues" among its Tier 1 suppliers. In Japan, Toyota will resume output at all factories on April 18, rather than on April 14 as it once planned, and at half of capacity. Production will halt after April 27 for the annual Golden Week string of national holidays. Normally output would resume on May 9, but Toyota hasn't decided on a production plan after the holidays. In North America, Toyota will halt vehicle production on Friday and April 18, 22 and 25, with most of its powertrain and component factories following suit. Its Georgetown, Ky., plant will build cars on April 21, but other assembly plants will be closed that day. Toyota already had eliminated overtime and some Saturday production "in order to conserve parts coming from Japan," Bob Young, Toyota's North American purchasing boss, told Automotive News. Honda has extended North American vehicle assembly cuts by an extra week, through April 22. Shortages of Japanese parts are expected to bring more production cuts after that. Honda went on half-time production schedules at most North American plants on March 29. Honda's plants in Japan have been shuttered since the quake. Nissan said that two assembly plants would be closed in Mexico for a total of 3 weeks while they intend to restart four Japanese assembly parts at reduced volume using parts produced after the quake. Automotive News reports that the world's largest maker of automotive microcontrollers, Renesas Electronics Corp., is shifting production from a key crippled plant to two other plants, but it will take months before shipments can start. Renesas will move production from its Naka plant, which built 25 percent of its chips, to one plant in Singapore and one in western Japan. The transfer could take up to two months. The Naka plant won't resume partial operation until July. And the manufacturing process for microchips can take up to two months, meaning it could be four months before those new sites are shipping finished products. A modern vehicle uses 30 to more than 100 microchips, essential in such things as parking brakes, engine control units, entertainment systems, stability control and power steering. They are highly complex and often use-specific, which means they can't easily be re-sourced. "The situation is quite difficult," says Matteo Fini, a senior analyst for the consulting firm Supplier Business, a division of IHS Automotive. "I see too many problems trying to replace these devices."
From the Detroit News: General Motors Co. is recalling 150 permanent workers to its Lansing Delta Township assembly plant to replace laid-off temporary workers, company officials said. About 96 temporary workers lost their jobs as a result of the switch, GM said. Company spokeswoman Sherrie Childers-Arb said the move helps provide jobs for GM's hourly workers laid off from factories that were shuttered. The new openings in Lansing will draw from a pool of about 1,200 hourly workers now on layoff at GM. Several weeks ago, United Auto Workers Vice President Joe Ashton said he expects GM to recall all its laid-off factory workers by September. GM, in January, announced it was adding a third shift and about 750 workers to its Flint assembly plant where it makes heavy-duty pickup trucks. The automaker also expects to add a shift and 600 workers at Lansing Grand River when it starts building a previously announced Cadillac small car.
From Reuters: Nissan Motor Co. has received complaints from owners that its Leaf electric car on occasion fails to start, posing a potential setback for the automaker's goal of promoting zero-emission vehicles. Nissan said on Monday it was looking into the exact cause, which it traced back to the Leaf's air-conditioning unit. Nissan is investigating whether the glitch was in a certain component or the programming, spokesman Toshitake Inoshita said. Nissan plans no recall for now since the issue does not affect safety, but will decide how to proceed after identifying the source of the problem, he said.
From the HattiesburgAmerican: Nissan Motor Co. officials say it's too early to dismiss the initial sales figures as signifying a slow start for its new commercial van. The NV, Nissan's first domestically built light commercial vehicle, has sold 31 units so far this year, 19 of them coming in March, when dealers began receiving shipments of the vehicles, according to the automaker. Production began in January at the automaker's Canton plant. Bill Visnic, an analyst with automotive site Edmunds.com, said the initial sales aren't encouraging.
From the Detroit News: Ford Motor Co. and federal regulators remain in talks over whether the automaker should expand a recall of F-150 pickups over dozens of reports that air bags have deployed without warning. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland said Wednesday that talks are continuing after more than a month — and the agency has been pushing for more vehicles to be called back . In February, the Dearborn automaker said it would recall 135,000 F-150 trucks in the United States over concerns raised by the government that air bags could deploy without warning. That number, however, represents just a fraction of the 1.3 million vehicles that NHTSA asked Ford to recall in a Jan. 26 letter. NHTSA said it has reports of 269 air bag deployments and 98 injuries in 2004-2006 F-150s. Injuries include chipped teeth, fractured arms and burns.
Earthquake update: There are numerous reports of schedule changes and plant closures as well as the temporary startup of some plants in Japan. GM is canceling Friday production this week at Arlington. According to a report from Barclays analyst Brian Johnson, new GM CFO Dan Ammann said General Motors has re-sourced many parts affected by the crisis in Japan but isn't yet out of the woods. Many GM team members are on site at Japanese supplier plants "to assist with restarting/resourcing component production and to ensure that GM is treated fairly vis-à-vis Japanese automakers for share of component inventory," Johnson wrote. GM has completed a "thorough review" of its Tier 1 suppliers and is assessing the situation at smaller suppliers, Johnson wrote. The supply of semiconductors is a key concern, but GM turned up "no major issues" among its Tier 1 suppliers. In Japan, Toyota will resume output at all factories on April 18, rather than on April 14 as it once planned, and at half of capacity. Production will halt after April 27 for the annual Golden Week string of national holidays. Normally output would resume on May 9, but Toyota hasn't decided on a production plan after the holidays. In North America, Toyota will halt vehicle production on Friday and April 18, 22 and 25, with most of its powertrain and component factories following suit. Its Georgetown, Ky., plant will build cars on April 21, but other assembly plants will be closed that day. Toyota already had eliminated overtime and some Saturday production "in order to conserve parts coming from Japan," Bob Young, Toyota's North American purchasing boss, told Automotive News. Honda has extended North American vehicle assembly cuts by an extra week, through April 22. Shortages of Japanese parts are expected to bring more production cuts after that. Honda went on half-time production schedules at most North American plants on March 29. Honda's plants in Japan have been shuttered since the quake. Nissan said that two assembly plants would be closed in Mexico for a total of 3 weeks while they intend to restart four Japanese assembly parts at reduced volume using parts produced after the quake. Automotive News reports that the world's largest maker of automotive microcontrollers, Renesas Electronics Corp., is shifting production from a key crippled plant to two other plants, but it will take months before shipments can start. Renesas will move production from its Naka plant, which built 25 percent of its chips, to one plant in Singapore and one in western Japan. The transfer could take up to two months. The Naka plant won't resume partial operation until July. And the manufacturing process for microchips can take up to two months, meaning it could be four months before those new sites are shipping finished products. A modern vehicle uses 30 to more than 100 microchips, essential in such things as parking brakes, engine control units, entertainment systems, stability control and power steering. They are highly complex and often use-specific, which means they can't easily be re-sourced. "The situation is quite difficult," says Matteo Fini, a senior analyst for the consulting firm Supplier Business, a division of IHS Automotive. "I see too many problems trying to replace these devices."
Thursday, April 7, 2011
State of the Union April 7, 2011
April 6, 2011 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Reminder From the Women’s Committee: You are invited to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Union Hall this Saturday, April 9. Doors will open at 10:30 am and the hunt will begin promptly at 12 noon sharp. There will be only one Easter Egg hunt. Bring the children/grandchildren and meet the Easter Bunny. There will also be a balloon artist, face painting, clowns and a craft table. Hot dogs and soda will be provided.
From CNNMoney: Mercedes-Benz is recalling 137,000 M-class SUVs because the cruise control doesn't immediately disengage when drivers tap the brake pedal. Under some circumstances, particularly if the driver pumps the brakes, the cruise control system can require an excessive amount of brake force before it will shut off, according to a letter Mercedes-Benz sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 31.
From the PRNewswire: The Ford brand increased its owner loyalty rate by 4.5 percentage points and led all brands with an owner loyalty rate of 60.3 percent. Industry-wide brand loyalty in 2010 was up 2.1 percentage points from 2009. This is the highest brand loyalty rate since Polk first began calculating industry brand loyalty in 1996. The top five brands and their loyalty rates for 2010 are as follows:
Brand Loyalty Rate Change from 2009
Ford 60.3 percent +4.5 percentage points
Mercedes-Benz 56.7 percent +2.1 percentage points
Honda 56.6 percent +1.1 percentage points
Toyota 56.4 percent -0.4 percentage point
Chevrolet 53 percent +1.4 percentage points
Recently GM invited a group of journalists to participate in a GMS Simulated Work Environment session. Here are some excerpts from Forbes reporter Joann Muller’s article about her experience: After spending half a day learning how to put together an automobile, I have this to say: it is not as easy as it looks. General Motors and the United Auto Workers union invited me and 15 other automotive reporters to participate in a simulated work environment training class at GM’s Orion assembly plant near Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday. The hands-on training is virtually the same as GM employees receive before they’re certified to start building cars for real.
My job was to use a power tool to attach front and rear “bumpers” on a wooden mock-up of a car as it rolled down the assembly line. Then later, I swapped jobs with a coworker and began installing “headlights” and “tail lights.”
I was, in a word, terrible at it. I got so flustered trying to keep up with the moving car that I fumbled with the nuts and kept dropping them on the floor. Each time I messed up, I had to pull a yellow andon chord overhead, triggering a red light and a computerized rendition of the “Hawaii Five-O” theme, which summoned my team leader to clean up my mess (lest I fall further behind).
At least I wasn’t alone. The other journalists were just as bad, or worse, at their jobs. Michigan Radio’s Tracy Samilton and I were like Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up in the candy factory. She dropped a “bumper” on the floor, meaning the part had to be scrapped and our team would not meet its cost target. Safety was also lacking: the journalists recorded 22 safety “incidents” in 20 minutes — including a worker who was hit four times by a car coming down the line. At the end of our first 20-minute shift, we produced only 13 cars (instead of 18, our target), with a total of 25 defects, which meant we would have to return Saturday for unscheduled overtime to fix the faulty cars and meet our production goals. I learned that’s a very bad thing.
After making some adjustments within each team, the journalists managed to produce eight cars in 10 minutes (one short of our goal) and reduced the number of defects from 25 to 7. We also cut the number of safety incidents to just 6. With a little more practice, we might have gotten to our targets of zero defects and zero safety problems. GM employees are working toward similar goals as they prepare for the launch of the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact and Buick Verano compact later this year. GM is the only manufacturer building subcompacts in the United States. To do so profitably, the car maker struck a breakthrough deal with the UAW during its bankruptcy reorganization. About 40% of the plant’s 1,640 workers will be paid about $14 per hour, about half the hourly rate of their more senior coworkers.
They’re worth every penny.
Reminder From the Women’s Committee: You are invited to the annual Easter Egg Hunt at the Union Hall this Saturday, April 9. Doors will open at 10:30 am and the hunt will begin promptly at 12 noon sharp. There will be only one Easter Egg hunt. Bring the children/grandchildren and meet the Easter Bunny. There will also be a balloon artist, face painting, clowns and a craft table. Hot dogs and soda will be provided.
From CNNMoney: Mercedes-Benz is recalling 137,000 M-class SUVs because the cruise control doesn't immediately disengage when drivers tap the brake pedal. Under some circumstances, particularly if the driver pumps the brakes, the cruise control system can require an excessive amount of brake force before it will shut off, according to a letter Mercedes-Benz sent to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration on March 31.
From the PRNewswire: The Ford brand increased its owner loyalty rate by 4.5 percentage points and led all brands with an owner loyalty rate of 60.3 percent. Industry-wide brand loyalty in 2010 was up 2.1 percentage points from 2009. This is the highest brand loyalty rate since Polk first began calculating industry brand loyalty in 1996. The top five brands and their loyalty rates for 2010 are as follows:
Brand Loyalty Rate Change from 2009
Ford 60.3 percent +4.5 percentage points
Mercedes-Benz 56.7 percent +2.1 percentage points
Honda 56.6 percent +1.1 percentage points
Toyota 56.4 percent -0.4 percentage point
Chevrolet 53 percent +1.4 percentage points
Recently GM invited a group of journalists to participate in a GMS Simulated Work Environment session. Here are some excerpts from Forbes reporter Joann Muller’s article about her experience: After spending half a day learning how to put together an automobile, I have this to say: it is not as easy as it looks. General Motors and the United Auto Workers union invited me and 15 other automotive reporters to participate in a simulated work environment training class at GM’s Orion assembly plant near Pontiac, Mich., on Tuesday. The hands-on training is virtually the same as GM employees receive before they’re certified to start building cars for real.
My job was to use a power tool to attach front and rear “bumpers” on a wooden mock-up of a car as it rolled down the assembly line. Then later, I swapped jobs with a coworker and began installing “headlights” and “tail lights.”
I was, in a word, terrible at it. I got so flustered trying to keep up with the moving car that I fumbled with the nuts and kept dropping them on the floor. Each time I messed up, I had to pull a yellow andon chord overhead, triggering a red light and a computerized rendition of the “Hawaii Five-O” theme, which summoned my team leader to clean up my mess (lest I fall further behind).
At least I wasn’t alone. The other journalists were just as bad, or worse, at their jobs. Michigan Radio’s Tracy Samilton and I were like Lucy and Ethel trying to keep up in the candy factory. She dropped a “bumper” on the floor, meaning the part had to be scrapped and our team would not meet its cost target. Safety was also lacking: the journalists recorded 22 safety “incidents” in 20 minutes — including a worker who was hit four times by a car coming down the line. At the end of our first 20-minute shift, we produced only 13 cars (instead of 18, our target), with a total of 25 defects, which meant we would have to return Saturday for unscheduled overtime to fix the faulty cars and meet our production goals. I learned that’s a very bad thing.
After making some adjustments within each team, the journalists managed to produce eight cars in 10 minutes (one short of our goal) and reduced the number of defects from 25 to 7. We also cut the number of safety incidents to just 6. With a little more practice, we might have gotten to our targets of zero defects and zero safety problems. GM employees are working toward similar goals as they prepare for the launch of the Chevrolet Sonic subcompact and Buick Verano compact later this year. GM is the only manufacturer building subcompacts in the United States. To do so profitably, the car maker struck a breakthrough deal with the UAW during its bankruptcy reorganization. About 40% of the plant’s 1,640 workers will be paid about $14 per hour, about half the hourly rate of their more senior coworkers.
They’re worth every penny.
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