Wednesday July 2, 12:42 pm ET
By Soyoung Kim

Desperate times, desperate measures

Stagflation — perhaps the worst-case scenario for automakers and suppliers — is roiling the auto industry. Suppliers of raw materials such as oil, rubber, steel and plastic resins are imposing huge price increases as vehicle sales collapse. Automakers appear helpless to fend off those rising materials costs. And it seems unlikely that they can pass along the increases to consumers... 12:01 am U.S. ET | June 30

The Detroit 3 cash crunch: How bad is it?

Can the Detroit 3 hang on? The startling collapse in sales since April means the three automakers are burning through cash reserves at a terrifying rate. Suddenly they have far more urgent deadlines for fixing their businesses. And they are considering a new range of actions that a few months ago were not on the table.  12:01 am U.S. ET | June 30

Major sales declines expected for June

Tuesday, July 1, is shaping up to be one of the darkest days in decades for the U.S. auto industry. Automakers will likely report June sales declines that underscore just how much consumer demand for vehicles — especially for the heavy sort that were once dear to the Detroit 3 — has declined as... 3:45 pm U.S. ET | June 30

By Caroline Salas

June 20 (Bloomberg) — General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler LLC credit ratings may be lowered by Standard & Poor’s as higher gas prices inflict “financial damage” on the auto industry.

S&P placed the carmakers’ credit ratings, already five levels below investment grade, on CreditWatch negative, according to a statement today. New York-based S&P, a unit of McGraw-Hill Cos., said it may also downgrade their financing arms. While the carmakers will be able to pay their debts this year, their cash may shrink to “undesirable levels” by the end of 2009, S&P said.
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PTS hauls for most North American automakers

Andrew Grossman
Automotive News
June 9, 2008 - 10:11 am ET
UPDATED: 6/9/08 2:34 p.m. EDT

A Teamsters strike against the nation’s second-largest vehicle hauler won’t immediately affect deliveries to dealers of General Motors and Ford Motor Co. vehicles, say spokespeople for the two automakers.

Teamsters drivers went on strike against Performance Transportation Services Inc. this morning. Performance Transportation, of suburban Detroit, hauls light vehicles for almost all of the major automakers that sell vehicles in the United States, according to the company’s Web site.

Wage concessions were apparently key to convincing Ford Motor Co. to direct many of the 4,500 new jobs involved in building Fiestas to the Ford plant in Cuautitlan, on the outskirts of Mexico City. Union leaders at the plant told The Associated Press they had agreed to cut wages for new hires to about half of the current wage of $4.50 per hour.

“We agreed to it,” said Ford union leader Juan Jose Sosa Arreola. “We need to be more competitive. That’s the truth. That’s a reality.”

Jobs still flowing south

The UAW had hoped to preserve American jobs by offering a two-tier wage system last fall, cutting starting wages for new U.S. workers by half to about $14.20 an hour. But it hasn’t worked — the jobs are flowing to Mexico, where starting wages at some plants also have been two-tiered, to as little as $1.50 per hour with a lot less of the related pension and health care costs of U.S. workers.

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Detroit 3, Toyota all post lower monthly sales

GM cuts truck production, considers selling Hummer brand

Auto union at Canada plant slams GM ‘betrayal’

Surging steel prices shock auto industry

Shareholders blast pay of GM chief executive

DETROIT — While General Motors is restarting truck production it had halted because of the UAW strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., auto dealers say they’re in no hurry to get more trucks on their lots. They have plenty.

Even though GM stopped filling orders for some trucks this month, dealers around the country interviewed today said they’re not losing truck business because of American Axle-related inventory problems.

“We’ve got a lot of inventory that’s still sitting on the ground,” says Doug Niemeyer, sales manager for Buick, Pontiac and GMC at Bommarito Automotive Group in Ellisville, Mo.

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Total units lost to American Axle strike: 285,503General Motors is starting to make up production it lost because of the UAW strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.

But the automaker won’t say how soon it expects to be able to bring production up to normal levels if UAW members approve a tentative contract later this week at the supplier.

Today, GM resumed full production at its Arlington, Texas, truck plant. On Monday, May 19, the company resumed production on one shift at its Moraine, Ohio, assembly plant. The Moraine plant had been closed, and the Arlington plant had been producing on one of its two shifts because of parts shortages.

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DETROIT (Reuters) — UAW officials on Sunday urged American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. workers to ratify a contract that would cut wages by almost 40 percent, shutter three plants and end a three-month-old strike with a subsidy of $218 million from General Motors.

Some 3,650 UAW-represented workers, including almost 1,900 in Detroit, will vote this week on a four-year contract that would cut hourly pay to between $10 and $26 and offer payments of up to $105,000 over three years for workers who remain.

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DETROIT (Reuters) — Auto parts supplier American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. on Tuesday said contract talks with the UAW aimed at settling a three-month-old strike had stalled since Sunday.

The Detroit supplier, which relies on General Motors for about 80 percent of its sales, said negotiations were snagged on two issues: health-care benefits and supplemental unemployment benefits.

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American Axle said the UAW had asked for a signing bonus of $5,000 for each of its workers under a new contract and had asked for one-time buyouts of up to $140,000 for American Axle workers who agree to leave the supplier’s payroll.

Money would be used for UAW buyout program
DETROIT — General Motors has agreed to pay $200 million to help with employee buyouts and “buy-downs” to help resolve a crippling strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc.
In a regulatory filing today, GM said the agreement is “predicated upon an expedited resolution to the ongoing strike called by the International UAW against American Axle.”
About 3,650 workers at five …  story 

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE

DETROIT — General Motors has told its dealers it has suspended production of some 2008 full-sized trucks and SUVs because of the American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings strike.

The vehicles:

• GMC Yukon

• GMC Denali

• GMC Sierra heavy-duty regular cab

• GMC Sierra heavy-duty extended cab

• GMC commercial heavy-duty

• Chevrolet Tahoes and same variants for Chevrolet full-sized trucks.

“Essentially, we’re not accepting any more orders,” says Randy Fox, GMC spokesman

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UAW official: Half of striking workers will take buyouts

Two American Axle forging plants likely to close
DETROIT — The outgoing president of a key UAW local at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. said today that he expects at least half of the 3,650 striking workers at the axle maker to take a buyout once a contract is completed.
Adrian King, president of UAW Local 235 representing workers at American Axle’s Detroit complex, said talks probably will last beyond the weekend. He said it … story Published: May 2 4:17 pm U.S. Eastern time [REG]

Ford to launch more UAW buyouts

DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. will offer more buyouts to hourly workers at assembly plants in Chicago and Louisville, Ky.
Mark Fields, Ford President of the Americas, confirmed in an interview with Automotive News that those two plants will be part of another round of buyouts the automaker is about to begin. The new round will target only certain plants, and the offers have not gone out, … story

DEARBORN, Mich. (AP) — Despite a surprise profit of $100 million for the first quarter, Ford Motor Co. said Thursday that it still expects to lose money this year as the U.S. auto market deteriorates.

But the company’s stock surged nearly 12 percent as CEO Alan Mulally reiterated his promise that restructuring will return Ford to black ink for 2009.The profit, Ford’s first since the second quarter of last year, came even during a time when concerns about the U.S. economy kept many car buyers away from showrooms. Ford sales were off about 9 percent for the quarter, and the trend away from trucks and sport utility vehicles accelerated, hurting its bottom line.

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DETROIT — The bitter labor stalemate between American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. and the UAW appears to be over, with significant progress taking place at the bargaining table.

A tentative contract agreement could be reached by this weekend, a source familiar with the discussions told Automotive News late Wednesday.

” They are very close,” the source said. ” They could reach an agreement by this weekend. Both sides have finally come to their senses.”

As with any protracted labor negotiation, there is no guarantee a deal can be reached, but this is the first sign of real progress in the dispute that has all but halted General Motors’ SUV production in the U.S.

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DETROIT — General Motors said today it will spend $200 million to build an engine and components plant in Joinville City, Brazil.
Production will begin in the fourth quarter of 2009. Once operating, the plant will employ 500 workers and generate 1,300 indirect jobs, GM said in a statement.
“The decision to build a new engine plant in Brazil is essential to our ability to expand vehicle …  story  

David Barkholz
and Robert Sherefkin
Automotive News
April 8, 2008 - 3:18 pm ET

General Motors is reopening two assembly plants this month with axles supplied from Mexico by American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., sources have told Automotive News.

The 7-week-old UAW strike at five American Axle plants had shut GM’s light-truck plant in Fort Wayne, Ind., until the company this week resumed production there of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. GM also intends to restart production of its full-sized pickups in Oshawa, Ontario, starting the week of Monday, April 21.

American Axle is supplying the plants from its factory in Guanajuato, Mexico, the sources said.

It is the same plant that has supplied axles and other parts throughout the strike to GM’s Silao, Mexico, factory and an SUV plant in Arlington, Texas.

Reuters
April 7, 2008 - 11:25 am ET

DETROIT (Reuters) — Top leaders of the UAW and American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. are to meet on Monday for the first time in months in what may be a positive development toward ending the union’s nearly six-week-old U.S. strike against the auto parts supplier.

UAW President Ron Gettelfinger and American Axle CEO Dick Dauch have not met since negotiations opened in December.

READ MORE… 

UAW STRIKE AT AMERICAN AXLE
Automaker shifts axle supply priorities away from SUVs

David Barkholz
and Robert Sherefkin
Automotive News
April 7, 2008 - 11:49 am ET

GM intends to close its Arlington, Texas, SUV plant after this week, while reopening two plants previously closed by the UAW strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., said GM spokesman Dan Flores.

The pickup plants are in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Oshawa, Ontario. The plants make the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra. Fort Wayne reopened today with one shift. It adds another Monday, April 14. The Oshawa plant reopens April 21, with two shifts.

GM can afford to make the change because it has ample supplies of SUVs.

Read More… 

DETROIT — The UAW strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. that has halted light-truck production at General Motors soon may push the automaker to close its first car assembly plants.
GM could stop building the Chevrolet Cobalt and Pontiac G5 in Lordstown, Ohio, by April 4 because of a shortage of a brake part made by American Axle, according to an Associated Press report. …  story  Published: Mar 27 4:00 pm U.S. Eastern time [REG]