State of the Union February 2, 2012

Feb. 2, 2012 online at

Our van sales took an alarming drop from December, falling by over 50%. But we need to keep in mind that January sales are always the worst of the year, and with the high concentration of cutaways we built (the sales of which are typically booked later in the year) this is not indicative of a pullback in the van market. As you will see, no one tore it up in January:
2012 2011 Change Share
Ford Econoline 6,786 7,979 - 15% 49%
GM 5,370 5,991 - 10.4% 38.8%
Mercedes Sprinter 924 875 + 5.6% 6.7%
Nissan NV 756 --- --- 5.5%
Ford transit 2,154 2,072 + 4% ---

With the weak sales, our field supply as measured in days supply was up – even though the total was down 451 units. It now stands at 58 days vs. 33 last month. Cargo van supplies are down over 800 units and passenger vans are down 102 units.
•    From Automotive News: As President Barack Obama planned a visit to the Washington Auto Show for Jan. 31, non-U.S.-based automakers including Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. hustled to show off for him. On about two days’ notice, they flew in executives from as far away as California. They trucked in their most fuel- efficient vehicles, as requested by White House staff. Obama walked in, strolled past cars made in the U.S. by foreign companies and spent much of his half-hour tour being photographed with a Dodge Dart, a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500, a Chevrolet Silverado pick-up, a Jeep Grand Cherokee, a Chevrolet Corvette ZR-1, a Ford C-Max Energi plug-in hybrid and a Chevrolet Malibu. Representatives of Honda, Kia Motors Corp., Mercedes-Benz and other automakers waited in a “bullpen” to be called upon to answer Obama’s questions about their vehicles. None were, said Michael Stanton, CEO of the Association of Global Automakers. "Many of our members bent over backwards to meet the request from the White House,” Stanton said. “We were just terribly disappointed that the president refused to recognize the commitment that our members and others have made to the manufacturing base of the United States.” (1,2,3 – Aaawwwww)

New fuel, emissions rules will generate jobs
By Bob King
This is an exciting time to be involved in the American automobile industry. After coming perilously close to the brink of disaster during the global financial crisis, the industry is coming back strong.
The last year has brought solid gains in sales and employment and we're seeing an unprecedented pace of new product introductions. Detroit's Big Three are more competitive than they have been in years and are beginning to show the kind of profitability we believe can be maintained. UAW members in the auto industry have expressed clear priorities to their elected leadership: Long term job and income security. The 21st-century UAW understands that job security ultimately comes from providing customers the highest quality and best value vehicles.
One clear priority of consumers today is for more fuel-efficient vehicles. UAW members and Chrysler, Ford, and GM are committed to producing the most fuel efficient vehicles for customers.
Improvements in fuel economy are important for reasons beyond the need to meet customer demands for relief at the gas pump. The auto industry has a significant role to play in reducing our demand for imported oil and solving the problem of climate change. The UAW understands the threat to the well being of Americans these problems pose.
That is why, along with auto industry, environmentalist and energy-security groups, the UAW is strongly supportive of the Obama administration's formal proposal to extend fuel-efficiency and tailpipe emissions rules to 2025.
These proposals were developed after extensive discussions and data sharing between government experts, auto industry executives, environmentalists, and the UAW. We think the Obama administration was wise to seek as much information as possible from all these stakeholders before crafting regulations.
The UAW was actively involved in this process, and we believe it resulted in proposed regulations that are sensible and achievable. We are especially pleased that the proposal recognizes the complexities of the auto market and the wide variety of products that customers want.
The drive to improve fuel economy is already paying off in jobs, with significant investments for the production of fuel-saving technology in UAW-represented plants in the domestic auto industry.
The simple equation for understanding how this job creation occurs is that the new technology required to increase fuel economy and reduce tailpipe emissions represents additional content on each vehicle, and bringing that additional content to market requires more engineers and more production workers.
The UAW believes that the fuel-economy and tailpipe pollution proposals put forward by the Obama administration deserve the support of everyone who has a stake in the ongoing revival of the auto industry. We are on our way to a greener, more successful future, and producing cleaner, more efficient vehicles in the United States will be a key part of that success.