Jan. 23, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com
Correction: The daily production schedule will be 340 units per 10-hour shift (not 317) once the ramp up concludes at the end of February.
Here is this week’s build information: 63 E-26 vans; 1043 cutaways (41.6%); 416 slider doors; 296 15-pass vans; 22.4% 07 loop; 188 r/h door deletes; 112 diesels; 106 exports; 396 Onstar; 1.52% tan interior trim; 22 brake deck spare tire; 236 U-Haul; 585 Enterprise rent-a-car; 100 Penske; 99 Budget; 83.7% white vans.
GM announced global sales for 2011 of a little more than nine million cars and trucks, a 7.6% rise over 2010. That would put it ahead of VW, which recently reported global sales totaled 8.16 million vehicles last year. Upon hearing GM’s results, VW cried foul, saying that if they had included all of the sales of their affiliates, they would be the world leaders. Specifically, truck makers MAN SE and Scania AB, which will be added in a few weeks, might add 200,000 vehicles to VW’s sales total. Realizing that is not enough to close the gap, VW employs addition by subtraction methods, arguing that some Chinese sales should not be counted because GM is not the majority stakeholder (even though Chinese laws forbid such an arrangement). GM spokesman Jim Cain: “Our goal is to be the best, not necessarily the biggest. If we had announced plans on world domination (as VW did), we probably would have been quibbling with the sales of our competitors and that’s as far removed from focusing on the customers as you can get.”
From the Kansas City Star: Gov. Jay Nixon wants to offer better incentives to a wider variety of automobile parts suppliers as part of a plan to rebuild the automotive industry in Missouri. Nixon has been traveling the state for the past couple of weeks touting the automotive incentives as part of a larger economic development initiative. He spoke in broad terms about the proposal Friday during a visit to a rural Missouri meat processing plant, but the governor's office provided details to The Associated Press that for the first time start to flesh out his proposal. Nixon is seeking to expand a law, approved during a 2010 special legislative session, that has been used persuade Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. to expand vehicle assembly plants in Missouri.
“We want to use those advantageous investments to rebuild out there that auto supplier network that eroded over many years of the auto industry moving down,” Nixon said. Missouri's 2010 law authorized financial incentives for automakers and their suppliers. The new proposal would expand the types of auto parts suppliers eligible for the aid, allow them to qualify while hiring fewer employees and lengthen the time they could receive incentives. To qualify for aid under Missouri's current law, an auto parts supplier must derive at least 10 percent of sales from an automobile manufacturer, add at least five jobs and pay at least half the health insurance premiums for its employees. Companies that pay wages at least equal to the county or statewide average can keep the withholding taxes normally paid to the state for their new employees for three years. Those with wages equaling at least 120 percent of the county average can get an incentive of five years' worth of the new employees' state withholding taxes. Under Nixon's proposal, parts manufacturers could qualify if their product is ultimately used as a component by an automaker, even if it is not sold directly to the manufacturer. Companies that derive at least half their annual sales from parts used to modify vehicles – such as converting a Ford Transit van into an ambulance or a Chevrolet Colorado pickup truck into a tow truck – also could qualify for incentives. The plan also says automotive parts suppliers could get incentives by hiring as few as two new employees if they also make a capital investment of at least $100,000. The standard incentive period would increase to five years instead of three. And companies would get a tax break equal to 5 percent of their new payroll if wages are at the county average, 5.5 percent if wages are 120 percent of the county average or 6 percent if wages equal at least 140 percent of the county average. The governor's proposal would require approval from the lawmakers, whose annual session runs until mid-May.
From Wards Auto: Ford executives caught flak from some reporters at the recent North American International Auto show in Detroit and other events when they touted a new version of the Ranger that will be built and sold in Thailand, South America and South Africa but downplayed the fact domestic production is ceasing and it will not be offered in the U.S. or Canada. Discontinuing the Ranger here is a mistake that may come back to sting Ford. Ford thinks buyers will opt for the much larger F-150 fullsize pickup instead, now that it is available with a fuel-efficient V-6. But Ford is missing the fact that size, perceived fuel economy and price still count with a lot of buyers. That’s why Toyota, Nissan and General Motors are sticking with compact pickups and they likely will benefit from Ford absence (70,832 Rangers were sold last year). The F-150 is available in a multitude of variations, but can it satisfy buyers seeking a smaller, higher-mileage pickup if fuel prices keep rising? Maybe. But if gas prices soar as high as some analysts predict later this year, Ford no longer will have an alternative. That may prove to be a serious mistake.
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