• From Chairman Mike Bullock: Pre/Post retirement classes are beginning this week at the Union Hall. The first class for day shift is today (5 – 7pm) and the second class, for night shift (3 – 5pm), is Thursday. If you haven’t filled out an application you can find them next to the suggestion boxes at the entrances. Fill one out and put in the suggestion box. If you have already filled out an application last year there is no need to do so again. I also want to welcome the 50 new employees that started Monday as well as the 5 Division 2 journeyman electricians that started yesterday.
• Van sales picked up somewhat in February. Here’s how the rest of the segment shook out:
| 2014 | 2013 | Change | Share | |
| Ford Econoline | 8489 | 8336 | +1.8% | 45.3% |
| GM | 6970 | 6390 | +9.1% | 37.2% |
| Mercedes Sprinter | 1421 | 1228 | +15.7% | 7.6% |
| Nissan NV | 995 | 1252 | -20.5% | 5.3% |
Ram Promaster |
597 |
--- | --- | 3.2% |
| Ford Transit connect | 2239 | 3610 | -38% | --- |
| Nissan NV200 | 793 | --- | --- | --- |
Nissan’s sales of the NV sagged despite $2500 in extra incentives. The Promaster, which had outsold the NV a couple of months ago, posted anemic sales numbers. For all the talk of the so-called Eurovans conquering the world, they still struggle to gain traction. Looking at field supplies, overall stock almost 1200 units and came in at a 57 day supply. This was down from 76 at the end of January. Almost all of the drop came in cargo van supplies. Passenger van supplies are also very tight with just 1006 in the field. In the midsize pickup category, an interesting phenomenon is taking place. Toyota Tacoma sales posted another drop while Nissan Frontier sales more than doubled and are up 100% for the year. Specifically, Toyota sold 10,942 Tacomas in February, down 13.5% while Nissan sold 5791 Frontiers, up 111.7%.
• With the NTEA Work Truck Show kicking off in Indianapolis tomorrow, a lot of attention is being focused on the new full size Ford Transit, which will replace the Econoline later this year. There are dozens of specs to digest but 2 you can’t – price and fuel economy. For the record, the Transit will come with 2 wheelbases, 3 body lengths and 3 roof heights (up to 81”!). The largest version will stand over 9 feet tall and stretch over 22 feet in length, providing 487 cubic feet of cargo space (our biggest van tops out at 288 cubic feet). These behemoths will be powered by a pair of V6 engines and a 5-cylinder turbodiesel, and Ford claims that they will achieve a 25% improvement in fuel economy (shouldn’t be hard given the fact that a 2014 E-150 passenger van powered by a 4.6-liter V-8 is rated at 13 mpg city/16 highway/15 combined). Gone are 60/40 doors, V8s and the V10 as well as lower transaction prices. Chris Lemley of Sentry Auto Group, which owns several Boston-area Ford dealerships, agrees: "Our only concern is it looks like it's not going to be an inexpensive product, and it is a much more complicated product than the Econoline." Stay tuned.
• Here’s a quote that may come back to haunt Sen. Bob (I’m not anti-union) Corker of Tennessee: “If the UAW is voted down they’re going to come here immediately, within a two-week period, and affirm they’re going to build a line here.” Ahem, Bob, it’s been 2 ½ weeks since you said that. Corker blames the silence on the UAW’s decision to file NLRB charges. “Unfortunately, I have to assume that … action may slow down Volkswagen's final discussions on the new SUV line.” And who exactly told you that the SUV announcement would come in 2 weeks? A “whole host of people both in and outside of the company that I’m constantly in contact with. Believe me,” Corker said, “I would never say anything that I didn’t believe to be 100 percent true.”
• From the Detroit News: “Old vans are dying, so small business is buying”: Aging vans are simply wearing out. Plus business confidence is growing. A January survey taken for Wells Fargo found that optimism among small-business owners hit the highest level in five years. Most expect increased cash flow and hiring this year. Also, once-tight credit for small businesses has loosened, and borrowing rose in the second half of last year, according to research by Experian and Moody’s. Commercial van sales last year were up more than 40 percent since 2010, and they rose 9 percent in January even as U.S. auto sales dropped 3 percent, according to Ward’s AutoInfoBank. “A lot of these contractors have been trying to keep their old products as long as they can,” said Peter Bedrosian, senior manager of product planning for Nissan North America. “The vehicles are really nearing the end of their useful life.” Van sales are a bellwether for the broader economic recovery since small businesses are reluctant to spend after a recession, said Mike Jackson, director of North American forecasting for the IHS Automotive consulting firm, which predicts commercial van sales will grow 27 percent between 2013 and 2015 to nearly 400,000 per year. Van sales began taking off in 2012 and 2013, and now they are accelerating, Ed Peper, Vice President of GM commercial sales, said. “We’ve seen just a lot more activity, a lot more confidence,” he said. “There’s more (price) quoting. To me that’s a very good sign.” Large van sales bottomed out at 159,000 in 2009 and rose to nearly 259,000 last year.
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