State of the Union April 26, 2012

April 26, 2012 online at www.uawlocal2250.com

There will be a Civil Rights Committee meeting Monday, April 30 between the shifts at the Union Hall. All are welcome to attend.

Co-chairs Tina Hayes and Mike Danielson would like to thank everyone who donated their time and money to the March for Babies gate drive yesterday. A total of $4,400 was collected!

From the Chaplaincy Committee: There will be a Workers Memorial Service to honor fallen workers Monday, April 30 at lunch time at the chassis chapel located at column C-42. All are welcome to attend.

As it stands now, the following Fridays are scheduled for production: May 4, 11, 25; June 8, 15, 29; July 13, 20. As usual this is subject to change.

From Automotive News: Chrysler Group said its first-quarter net income quadrupled on surging sales as the automaker set a profit target of $1.5 billion for the year. Chrysler earned $473 million in the January-March period, up from $116 million a year earlier. Revenue rose 25 percent to $16.4 billion as U.S. vehicle sales increased 39 percent. The 2012 target of $1.5 billion in net income would far outpace the $183 million earned last year as Chrysler posted its first annual profit since its 2009 bankruptcy. Interest expense on Chrysler debt in the first quarter fell 20 percent from a year earlier to $277 million. The company had $12.6 billion in debt at the end of the quarter. In May 2011, Chrysler privately refinanced the debts it owed from its bankruptcy exit to the U.S., Canadian, and Ontario provincial governments. Its total debt dropped $700 million in the 12 months since March 31, 2011. Chrysler said its worldwide vehicle shipments for the quarter reached 607,000, up 25 percent from the 485,000 units shipped during the first quarter of 2011. Its goal for the year is 2.4 million. Chrysler said its retail sales in the United States climbed 40 percent in the quarter, though it did not identify the total number of retail units sold. Industrywide U.S. sales of light vehicles this year have risen 13 percent through March.

Also: Hyundai boosted sales in the United States and bucked sluggish markets in Europe and China to drive quarterly net profit up by almost a third to $2.15 billion, its highest since changing accounting methods a year ago. Hyundai increased its U.S. sales by 15 percent in January-March, edging the overall market's 14 percent gain, but its market share slipped to 4.7 percent from 5.1 percent as its stretched production capacity meant it couldn't readily boost output.

From the Wall Street Journal: Facing increasing challenges overseas, Ford Motor Co. and General Motors Co. appear headed for slimmer profits this year compared with 2011 although their bottom lines should remain very strong by historical standards. Ford will give investors a glimpse of what's ahead when it reports its first quarter earnings on Friday. Analysts expect the auto maker to report strong income from its North America automotive business, which is getting a lift from a robust rise in U.S. auto sales. At the same time, however, Ford is expected to report lower profit from its financing arm, a higher tax rate in the U.S., and losses in Europe and Asia. For GM, which reports its earnings on May 3, it is a similar picture—increasing demand and higher prices in the U.S., despite high gasoline prices, but trouble in Europe, with increasing competition pressuring profits in South America and China. Not all parts of the two big Detroit auto makers are pulling in the same direction, said Peter Nesvold, a transportation analyst with Jefferies & Co. in New York. "This is going to be an exceptionally strong year in North America. But international is not going to be contributing much to earnings this year." Analysts estimate Ford will report first-quarter earnings of 35 cents a share, according to a consensus compiled by Thomson Financial. That's down from 61 cents a year ago. GM is expected to report a first-quarter operating profit of $1.38 billion on revenue of $37.54 billion, according to Thomson Reuters. In the year ago quarter, GM reported an adjusted operating profit of $2 billion and revenue of $36.2 billion. The consensus estimate for GM is 85 cents a share, Thomson Financial said. In the first quarter of 2011, GM reported earnings per share of 95 cents. In its first quarter, GM sold 608,320 cars and light trucks in the U.S., up 2.7% from a year. The company's Chinese operations posted an 8.7% volume increase in the first quarter, to 745,152 vehicles.

From Bloomberg: Volkswagen Group reported a 10 percent gain in first-quarter operating profits on higher demand at its Audi luxury brand. In a statement released earlier today, VW said operating profit rose to 3.21 billion euros ($4.26 billion) from 2.91 billion euros a year earlier. The figure beat the 2.66 billion-euro average estimate of nine analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Sales gained 26 percent to 47.3 billion euros ($62.46 billion). Operating profit at the core VW brand grew 5.3 percent to 1.1 billion euros ($1.45 billion). Audi's profit rose by 26.6 percent to 1.4 billion euros ($1.85 billion). Volkswagen is thriving despite Europe's debt crisis. The German automaker is stealing market share from rivals with a model lineup that runs from the Up minicars to Lamborghini sports cars and 50-ton trucks. The group's worldwide unit sales increased by 11.3 percent to 2.3 million vehicles in the quarter, boosting the automaker's global passenger car market share to 12.2 percent from 11.9 percent. The automaker stuck to its target of matching last year's record operating profit of 11.3 billion euros ($14.9 billion) as higher revenue and auto deliveries offset increased development spending. Relying on continued expansion of car markets in Asia, the United States, Latin America and Russia, VW also stood by its goal to increase deliveries beyond last year's record 8.3 million vehicles.