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Wednesday, 21 May 2008 |
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Filed under: Plants/Manufacturing, GM, GMC, UAW/Unions  With closure to the American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings strike in sight, General Motors is pushing forward to resume production at the idled and slowed plants -- assuming UAW members approve a tentative contract later this week. As of Monday, the following plants were back in operation:
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Bay City, Mich. (engines, transmissions, components)
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Flint, Mich., North and South (engines, components)
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Livonia, Mich. (engines, components)
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Parma, Ohio (components)
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Romulus, Mich. (engines)
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Saginaw, Mich. (metal casting)
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Silao, Mexico (engines)
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St. Catharines, Ontario (engines, components)
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Tonawanda, N.Y. (engines)
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Willow Run, Mich. (transmissions)
Each week the strike has dragged out, GM has lost significant production (29,925 vehicles were lost in the week ending April 26 alone). If GM cannot boost additional manufacturing output, by the end of this week the total number of lost units could be as high as 285,503. Even if the American Axle strike is settled, the UAW is still striking at GM's Fairfax assembly plant over the role of seniority in job placement. That labor dispute alone is costing the company 4,627 units each week.
[Source: Automotive News, subs. req'd] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Tuesday, 20 May 2008 |
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Filed under: Manufacturing/Plants, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, North America 
It's no secret that the pickup truck market is shrinking, with high gas prices as one obvious culprit. In fact, Toyota's ridiculously popular Camry midsize sedan is nipping at the heels of full-size truck stalwarts such as the Chevy Silverado and Ford F-Series. So far this year, General Motors has seen an 18.5 percent decrease in full-size truck sales and a huge 31.5 percent decrease in full-size SUV sales compared to last year. These sobering statistics are forcing GM to reconsider their future product plans. Already testing the waters with its upcoming Pontiac car-based truck and concepts such as the Denali XT, General Motors needs to know just how large of a market will be left and what external forces will continue to impact that dwindling market share.
Mike DiGiovanni, executive director of global market and industry analysis for GM, is leading a research team deep within GM which is "keeping a close eye on full-sized trucks and asking ourselves how much more aggressively we want to enter the crossover space, given where the world is going." So far, his team has figured that the market for big trucks, though shrinking, will still be sizable, though he adds that "all bets are off if oil skyrockets." Hmm, isn't that exactly what oil's been doing lately?
[Source: Automotive News - sub. req'd] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments |
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Sunday, 18 May 2008 |
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Filed under: Hirings/Firings, Plants/Manufacturing, GMC, UAW/Unions .jpg) When the UAW went on strike against American Axle & Manufacturing in late February, analysts expected a settlement within days. The supplier of axles, driveshafts, and other related components to General Motors and other automakers had a stockpile of inventory on hand, and few expected the strike to affect production. However, as talks failed to bring workers back, the situation quickly went downhill. By early March, nearly GM 20 GM truck plants were threatening to idle or shut down. By late March, GM's car plants were feeling the effects. Earlier this month, it was GM who offered up to $200 million to help bring the strike to an end -- the automaker has suffered production stops or cut backs at 30 plants in North America as of last week.
Today, American Axle made an offer to the union to bring the 11-week strike to an end. It includes buyouts to workers who have been on the job for more than 10 years, retirement packages to senior workers, and payouts to ease salary adjustments as American Axle makes pay cuts to keep their U.S. operations competitive. The latest agreement will be voted on by union members in New York and Michigan tomorrow. Let's hope they come to terms, as the strike has already cost GM an estimated $800 million.
[Source: Bloomberg] Permalink | Email this | Comments
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Saturday, 10 May 2008 |
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Filed under: MPG, Chevrolet, GM, GMC, Lightweight 
The current GMT920 full-size SUVs from General Motors are very likely to be the last of their kind from the Detroit automaker. Even though new fuel economy standards give the big trucks a break based on their footprint, radical changes are likely for the next-generation models. A fully-equipped Tahoe is well over 5,500lbs and a big part of reducing fuel consumption in the next few years will be weight reduction. One step in that direction will be a shift from the body on frame designs these vehicles have used since their inception over to a uni-body structure. Ford already declared that the next-generation Explorer will be a uni-body and GM has their Lambda platform crossovers which are nearly as large as the GMT920s. Sales of the Tahoe are already down 10.5 percent this year and that trend is likely to accelerate. The next-generation models that are due to debut around 2012 will almost certainly make the jump to a smaller, lighter platform. In fact, a distinct possibility might be an SUV derived from the Zeta platform like the Denali XT pickup concept that was shown at the Chicago Auto Show this year. Without the pickup bed and with a slightly taller roof, this design could likely shave nearly 1,000lbs off the current SUVs. Regardless of the design direction that GM follows, the maxi-sized SUVs and pickups will likely never reach the sales heights they once did, meaning that GM is planning to scale back production capacity. The current 1.7 million annual capacity will probably drop to somewhere around 1 million. GM recently announced plans to cancel one shift at each of four truck assembly plants. Going forward, that production will likely be consolidated to fewer plants.
[Source: Bloomberg] Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments |
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