Utilization had already been declining from a healthy level of 70% and above, prior to the pandemic. Chart courtesy of LMC Automotive.
The financial health of the global auto business remains threatened by Covid 19 and it could be just as deadly. This comes from the latest forecast from consultancy LMC Automotive as it takes a steely-eyed look at the pandemic and its ongoing economic destruction.
While the past isn’t a 100% sure predictor of the future, “A second wave and stricter social controls pose a large risk to our central forecast,” LMC notes in its latest analysis. LMC projects that 2020 global assembly plant use is expected to fall to the lowest level ever recorded – just 51%. The pandemic-caused shutdowns during March and April had a profound impact on both the volume and use of plants globally.
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SEC Settles Charges Against Clean Water Project Founder
The Securities and Exchange Commission has filed settled charges against Verley Lee “Rocky” Sembritzky, Jr., the promoter of a purported Kenyan desalination plant investment who defrauded American investors out of millions of dollars. Sembritsky, according to the complaint, raised approximately $7.2 million from at least 20 investors in the United States between August 2015 and March 2017, directing investors to send their funds to two entities he controlled – Bounty of the Ocean Inc. and Ocean Harvest LLC.
Sembritzky, a Houston, Texas resident, told investors that he was building an advanced, eco-friendly desalination plant that would provide clean, low-cost drinking water to Kenyans. Sembritzky misled investors as to the viability of his desalination process, falsely assuring them that the technology had years of proven operational history. Continue reading →