Category Archives: economy

Japanese U.S. Auto Industry Exports at Record

The news comes as trade tensions are rising between the U.S. and Japan over Japan’s manipulation of the Yen by keeping it artificially low to boost sales of Japanese products while blocking imports into Japan. Continue reading

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Manufacturing Important Again. Tell Washington

Manufacturing is the most important sector for a strong economy, according to a new opinion poll released today in conjunction with a session on Global Manufacturing at the Center for Automotive Research Management Briefing Seminars. Continue reading

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Volkswagen Says Chattanooga Created 12,400 Jobs

Volkswagen’s Chattanooga factory has an annual economic impact of $643 million creating 12,400 full-time jobs in the region, according to a new study presented at the Center for Automotive Research’s Management Briefing Seminar in Traverse City, Michigan today. Continue reading

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U.S. July Jobs Numbers are Dreadful

Even though the latest economic data show that the contraction during the Great Recession was slightly less severe than previously reported, it remains the largest decline since quarterly data became available in 1947. Cumulatively, real GDP fell by 4.3% during the recession. Moreover, the jobs lost then have never been recovered. Continue reading

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EuroSlump Goes On – June Commercial Vehicle Sales Drop -5%

During June commercial vehicle sales in the EU dropped by -5% in the EU as vehicle registrations continued their downward trend to 149,996 units. In another dismal month, all segments were down, from -4.2% for vans to -14.0% for buses and coaches. Continue reading

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European Car Sales Down Again in June. EU Slump Continues

The drop was in stark contrast to the recovering U.S. auto market, which is within a year or two to obtaining pre-Great Depression levels and the booming Chinese market,which at 23 million or more units this year will once again be the world’s largest. Once again the specter stalking European politicians whose austerity policies induced the ongoing human tragedy, is the their leadership role in the unchecked decline, which much like the decline of European power after a generation was slaughtered during WW1 is looking to be structural and permanent. Continue reading

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Western Europe Sales Slump Permanent?

“Flat is the new up in Western Europe,” claims John Hoffecker, co-president of AlixPartners. “Our models show Western European sales reaching a bottom of 12 million units in 2014, and largely remaining there for the foreseeable future – far from the historical peak of 2007, when 16.8 million units were sold. Continue reading

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GM to Expand Three Plants in Mexico

While GM has been operating in Mexico for 78 years, the NAFTA trade agreement made it easier for automakers and other manufacturers to transfer jobs out of the U.S., which buys almost 80% of total Mexican exports of vehicles and auto parts. The U.S. continues to run a trade deficit under NAFTA since its 1994 inception, running a deficit of $169 billion with Mexico during 2012, as politician’s promises of U.S. jobs never materialized. The Obama Administration is attempting to put similar agreements, negotiated in secret, in place with Germany, Japan, and other Pacific countries. Continue reading

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Ford, UAW and UAW Trust Launch ‘Cost Cutting’ Health Care

The two-year gambit is voluntary for hourly employees and non-Medicare retirees and comes from the 2011 Ford-UAW contract negotiations. The UAW, whose health care plans will ultimately be severely taxed for their lavishness under the misnamed “Affordable Health Care Act” has its own needs to institute a reform. Continue reading

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Supreme Court Dismisses Ethanol Waiver Case

The United States Supreme Court today dismissed a petition by the American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers or AFPM challenging an EPA regulation that allows for 15% ethanol in gasoline. Continue reading

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New GM Pickup EcoTech3 V6 Rated at 24 and 22 MPG

The new 4.3-liter V6 engine used in the 2014 Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks is rated at 22 mpg EPA highway for 4×4 versions and 24 mpg for 2wd. This means they are competitive with – or better than V6 engines – used in the Ram, Ford F-150 and Toyota Tundra pickup trucks. Continue reading

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U.S. Unemployed Far Outnumber Job Openings

The April Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) released last week by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that job openings fell by 118,000 in April to only 3.8 million. Job openings have seen little improvement during the last year and remain depressed. In 2007, there were 4.5 million job openings each month. April’s rate of 3.8 million is more than 16% below the levels before President Bush’s Great Recession took hold. Continue reading

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Treasury Selling More GM Common Stock

The U.S. Department of the Treasury today announced that it would sell another 30 million shares of General Motors Company common stock in a public offering in conjunction with GM’s return to the S&P 500 index. Continue reading

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EU Car Sales Weak in April. Off -7% YTD

This was the third lowest level of new registrations for a month of April, with the historic low for April reached in 2012 at 1,021,358 units, according to ACEA, the auto trade group. Continue reading

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Korean Trade Deficit Soars under Obama Administration Deal

The U.S. deficit with Korea in autos and auto parts increased 16% during the first year of the FTA. U.S. auto imports from Korea have surged by more than $2.5 billion. Continue reading

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