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Category Archives: economy
Strength in August Auto Retail Market but…
In the Cox Auto Market Report published this morning, Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke noted that first half of August saw massive volatility in the stock market, but halfway through the month there is strength in the retail sale vehicle market.”
“Keep your seatbelts buckled as the election, geopolitics and the Fed are all likely to create more volatility over the next several weeks,” Smoke cautioned. Continue reading
UAW Locals Preparing to Strike Stellantis – National Strike?
The UAW said today that several UAW locals representing tens of thousands of workers under the national UAW Stellantis agreement are prepared to file grievances over the Stellantis’ failure to keep its investment commitments and honor the union contract,. This, of course leads to a national strike at Stellantis, if necessary.
“This company made a commitment to autoworkers at Stellantis in our union contract, and we intend to enforce that contract to the full extent,” said UAW President Shawn Fain. “On behalf of autoworkers everywhere, we’re standing up against a company that wants to go back on its commitments and drive a race to the bottom at the expense of the American worker.” Continue reading
Posted in auto news, customer satisfaction, economy, labor issues, manufacturing, news analysis, transportation
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Belvidere Assembly, Detroit Assembly Complex, Ken Zino, Kokomo Casting, Kokomo Transmission, Toledo assembly, UAW President Shawn Fain, warren truck, X @KenAutoinformed
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July 2024 Global Light Vehicle Sales at 91 Million Year’s Best
“Sales in China maintained a solid pace as NEVs sales continue to gain traction. In the US, YoY sales declined as high vehicle pricing and concerns over the economy weighed on vehicle consumers. The same can be said for Western Europe, which saw its selling rate struggle in July. Meanwhile, the Japanese market surged as supply has begun to catch up from the losses created by the previous vehicle certification issues,” the Global Data forecast team said. Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, marketing, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, GlobalData, GlobalData Light Vehicle Sales Forecasting, July Global Light Vehicle sales, Ken Zino, X @KenAutoinformed
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July Manheim Index Show Wholesale Used-Vehicle Prices Up
“In late June, wholesale value declines slowed, and that trend continued throughout July as we saw values appreciate over the course of the month,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Industry Insights at Cox Automotive. “The sales conversion rate has been higher for each week in July, and that translated to higher prices overall at the wholesale level for the month. We are just beginning to see lower lease maturities for the key 3-year-old segment, and that impact will be felt over the rest of this year and into 2025 and 2026. As supply tightens for this key segment for the used vehicle market, we expect to see variances from historical average depreciation rates.” Continue reading
Western European Passenger Car Sales Down in July
The Western Europe passenger vehicle (PV) selling rate dropped in July, at 11.2 million units/year, returning to the levels seen pre-June. PV registrations fell 0.2% YoY to 916,000 units.* “Following an improvement in the selling rate in June, Western Europe … Continue reading
Soothsayer Shortfall – US Light Vehicle Sales Flat in July
US Light Vehicle (LV) sales fell by 0.4% YoY in July, to 1.30 million. When sales contracted in June largely as the result of the CDK cyberattack,* it was expected by industry soothsayers that the market would experience a significant rebound in July. It didn’t happen. According to preliminary estimates released today by the respected GlobalData** consultancy, Light Vehicle (LV) sales fell by 0.4% YoY. Continue reading
Posted in economy, news, news analysis, results, sales
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, CDK, GlobalData, Jeff Schuster, July US Light Vehicle Sales Flat, Ken Zino, national automobile dealers association, Patrick Manzi, X @KenAutoinformed
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EPA – State Fuel Waivers for ExxonMobil Refinery Shutdown
The action comes after progressive Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer sent a letter to the EPA, “requesting an emergency fuel waiver that will increase the supply of fuel and help mitigate price fluctuations amidst the refinery outage, the ongoing hurricane season, and as Michiganders continue to enjoy summer travel plans.” Continue reading
Posted in alternative fuels, auto news, economy, environment, news analysis, people
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Ken Zino, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, reformulated gasoline, reid vapor pressure, X @KenAutoinformed
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Penske Automotive Group Posts Lukewarm Q2 Results
“I am pleased to see that our service and parts business remains strong and contributed to our record total quarterly revenue of $7.7 billion. In addition, our focus on efficiency and controlling costs drove a sequential decline in selling, general, and administrative expenses as a percentage of gross profit by 50 basis points to 70.2%,” said Chair and CEO Roger Penske, which is more or less what he said about Q1 results. Continue reading
Commercial Vehicle Sales Up in EU H1 2024
During the first half of 2024, new EU van sales increased by 15%, at 840,409 units, driven by double-digit growth in key markets, according to data just released by The European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA).* “Germany led with a remarkable 19.3% rise, followed by Spain at 18.5%, Italy at 17.8%, and France at 10.5%. New EU truck registrations saw a more modest increase of 3%, at 183,295 units from January to June. This growth was primarily driven by an 18.2% increase in medium-truck sales, while heavy trucks remained stable with a 0.3% increase. Spain and Italy led with double-digit gains of 21.7% and 10.5%, respectively, while Germany (+8.1%) and France (+5.5%) also posted growth,” ACEA said. Continue reading
U.S. FHA – $5B More in Large Bridge Project Awards
“For too long America let bridges fall into disrepair, which left people less safe, disrupted our supply chains, and cost people time and money – but now the Biden-Harris Administration is changing that with the biggest investment in our bridges since the Eisenhower era,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “There are currently about 3,000 fewer bridges in poor condition than when our administration began, and today we are proud to announce funding to repair or replace 13 of America’s largest and economically significant bridges.” Continue reading
Posted in auto news, economy, milestones, news analysis, transportation
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Bridge Investment Program, federal highway administration, Ken Zino, Pete Buttigieg, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, Shailen Bhatt
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Global Light Vehicle June Sales Rate at 89 Million Best in 2024
“Sales accelerated in China last month with the price war continuing, while in the US sales staggered as a result of a cyberattack affecting dealerships. Europe saw a rise in selling rates, thanks to improvements in both East and West Europe. Meanwhile, Japan recorded lagging sales in the face of supply issues and a subdued macroeconomic climate,” said the GlobalData Light Vehicle Sales Forecasting Team. Continue reading
EPA Grant to Holcim U.S. for Clean Cement
In the U.S., Holcim is the largest cement manufacturer and a top five producer of aggregates and ready-mix concrete, with approximately 7000 employees. Holcim’s so-called Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) Accelerator Project will increase the transparency of data on environmental emissions associated with the production of construction materials; generate robust EPDs with a diversity of manufacturers from across the U.S.; and drive market demand for lower carbon construction materials. These projects represent the three construction materials in Holcim’s portfolio: cement, asphalt, and ultra-high-performance concrete. Continue reading
Posted in economy, environment, global warming, manufacturing, milestones, news analysis, public health
Tagged auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, Biden Administration, Clean Cement, ENERGY STAR Industrial program, epa, Federal Buy Clean Initiative, high-quality environmental product declarations EPDs, Holcim U.S., Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, Janet McCabe, Ken Zino, Meg McCollister
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Biden Administration – $1.6B in Semiconductor Manufacturing
The US Department of Commerce today published a Notice of Intent (NOI) to open a competition for new research and development (R&D) activities that it said will establish and accelerate domestic capacity for semiconductor advanced packaging. The CHIPS for America program predicts that up to $1.6 billion in funding will go to five R&D areas. These were first outlined in the vision for the National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program (NAPMP). Through potential cooperative agreements, CHIPS for America would make several awards of ~$150 million federal funding per award in each research area. Continue reading
Posted in economy, electronics, manufacturing, milestones, news, news analysis, shows and events, software defined vehicles
Tagged advanced node chips, Arati Prabhakar, auto industry commentary, autoinformed.com, automotive blog, Automotive news and analysis, CHIPS for America, Ken Zino, National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program, US Department of Commerce, US Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo
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Canadian Government Halts Teamsters Canada Freight Strike
Major automakers such as Ford Motor, General Motors, Honda, Stellantis and Toyota assembling vehicles in Canada or shipping engines and various other components to the United States got a reprieve late today as a previously reluctant Canadian government intervened in a railroad freight strike.
“I’ve directed the Canada Industrial Relations Board to assist the parties in settling the outstanding terms of their collective agreements by imposing final binding arbitration,” said Canadian Labor Minister Steve MacKinnon at a press conference. Continue reading →