The U.S. Automotive Industry: National and State Trends in Manufacturing Employment

[Excerpt] The U.S. motor vehicle manufacturing industry\u27 employs 880,000 workers, or approximately 6.6% of the U.S. manufacturing workforce, including those who work in the large motor vehicle parts manufacturing sector, as well as those who assemble motor vehicles. Since the beginning of the decade, the nation\u27s automotive manufacturing sector has eliminated more than 435,000 automotive manufacturing jobs (or an amount equal to about 3.3% of all manufacturing jobs in 2008). The employment level first dipped below one million in 2007 and fell to 880,000 workers last year. With the restructuring and bankruptcy of Chrysler and General Motors, and the ongoing recession in the auto sector, employment in the nation\u27s automotive manufacturing industry will most likely shrink in 2009 and 2010 as additional assembly, powertrain, and auto parts plants close. This report provides an analysis of automotive manufacturing employment, with a focus on national and state trends. The 111th Congress continues to be heavily engaged in oversight and legislative proposals in response to the unprecedented crisis of the domestic motor vehicle manufacturing industry. The Detroit-based automotive manufacturers (General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler) have suffered a series of setbacks in recent years with their share of the domestic market dropping from 64.5% in 2001 to 47.5% in 2008. As a consequence, the traditional auto states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio have been—and will continue to be—heavily impacted by the changes taking place in the automotive sector. Together, there are now 152,000 fewer automotive manufacturing jobs in these three states than there were five years ago. Recent automotive sales and production data indicate the enormous changes taking place in today\u27s motor vehicle manufacturing sector. For instance, automotive sales fell to 13.2 million units in 2008, down by 18% from 2007, and forecasts indicate U.S. consumers are expected to purchase fewer than 10 million cars and light trucks in 2009. There has also been a loss of market share by the Detroit 3 producers which has created gains for foreign-owned domestic manufacturers and imports. Some recent Detroit 3 automotive manufacturing employment losses are partially offset by new investments by foreign-owned manufacturers in the United States as they have open, or will open, new plants in states like Indiana, Georgia, and Tennessee. Many Members of Congress, and especially those members from the traditional auto belt states of Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, have expressed their concerns about lost jobs in the automotive manufacturing sector. With the sale of GM assets to the U.S. government and Chrysler assets to Fiat, two new companies have emerged that will be substantially smaller than the companies that went into bankruptcy. As a consequence, the total level of motor vehicle manufacturing employment will be reduced, especially in locales where facilities have closed. The most recent automotive manufacturing employment data indicate that 42% of all persons in the industry work in one of the three traditional auto belt states, each of which at present employs more than 100,000 persons in the industry. Michigan alone has accounted for 40% of the net job loss in the industry since 2003. Losses in Ohio and Indiana have been less severe, offset somewhat by foreign investment. Alabama, with fewer total automotive manufacturing employees, has been the big job gainer, adding over 12,000 auto manufacturing jobs since 2003. Texas, now the eighth largest state by automotive employment, gained 5,200 jobs between 2003 and 2008. Auto industry states in the South including Kentucky, South Carolina, and Tennessee have lost jobs in recent years, but far fewer than in the traditional auto belt states

Analyzing competitiveness of automotive industry through cumulative belief degrees

Copyright @ 2012 The European Mathematical SocietyThis study aims to analyze the automotive industry from competitiveness perspective using a novel cumulative belief degrees (CBD) approach. For this purpose, a mathematical model based on CBD is proposed to quantify the relations among the variables in a system. This model is used to analyze the Turkish Automotive Industry through scenario analysis.This research is supported by SEDEFED (Federation of Industrial Associations), REF (TÜSİAD Sabanci University Competitiveness Forum), and OSD (Automotive Manufacturers Association

Fighting Irrelevance: The Role of Regional Trade Agreements in International Production Networks in Asia

This chapter contains the sectoral case study on the Indonesia's automotive industry. The objective of this chapter is to examine the role of RTAs in the establishment of IPNs in Indonesia’s automotive sector. The first part of this chapter addresses the profile of the local automotive sector, followed by an examination of the policy environment for the sector. The growth, establishment, prospects and the relationship between IPNs and FTAs in the Indonesian automotive sector are considered then followed by the conclusion.trade liberalization, international production networks, regional trade agreements, value chain, Asia, automotive, East Asia, Indonesia

Development of the Integrated Model of the Automotive Product Quality Assessment

Issues on building an integrated model of the automotive product quality assessment are studied herein basing on widely applicable methods and models of the quality assessment. A conceptual model of the automotive product quality system meeting customer requirements has been developed. Typical characteristics of modern industrial production are an increase in the production dynamism that determines the product properties; a continuous increase in the volume of information required for decision-making, an increased role of knowledge and high technologies implementing absolutely new scientific and technical ideas. To solve the problem of increasing the automotive product quality, a conceptual structural and hierarchical model is offered to ensure its quality as a closed system with feedback between the regulatory, manufacturing, and information modules, responsible for formation of the product quality at all stages of its life cycle. The three module model of the system of the industrial product quality assurance is considered to be universal and to give the opportunity to explore processes of any complexity while solving theoretical and practical problems of the quality assessment and prediction for products for various purposes, including automotive

Prediction of mechanical fatigue caused by multiple random excitations

A simulation method is presented for the fatigue analysis of automotive and other products that are subjected to multiple random excitations. The method is denoted as frequency domain stress-life fatigue analysis and was implemented in the automotive industry at DAF Trucks N.V. in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. As an example case, a chassis part is analysed. The results of the analysis are consistent with fatigue cracks encountered during testing, which illustrates the effectiveness of the adopted method in the automotive industry

Exploring the drivers behind automotive exports in OECD countries: An empirical analysis

The conceptual part of this paper ties the recently developed Lead Market concept to the international trade theory literature including neoclassical trade theory, new trade theory, neotechnological approaches and systems of innovation concepts. The empirical part explores the factors driving exports in the automotive sector in eight OECD countries between 1991 and 2008, explicitly accounting for possible Lead Market factors. Econometric results suggest that exports in the automotive sector are positively related to the general strength of a country in terms of exports, to higher GDP per capita and to a lower labour cost share in the automotive sector. However, domestic market size and R&D in the automotive sector do not exhibit statistically significant effects on exports. --lead markets,international trade,export potential,automotive industry

PENGARUH FAKTOR FUNDAMENTAL DAN KONDISI EKONOMI TERHADAP HARGA SAHAM PERUSAHAAN AUTOMOTIVE AND ALLIED PRODUCTS YANG TERDAFTAR DI BURSA EFEK INDONESIA PERIODE 2007-2010

Penelitian ini dilakukan bertujuan untuk (1) mengetahui pengaruh Return on Assets (ROA) terhadap harga saham perusahaan automotive and allied products yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2007-2010, (2) mengetahui pengaruh Debt to Equity Ratio (DER) terhadap harga saham perusahaan automotive and allied products yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2007-2010, (3) mengetahui pengaruh Tingkat suku bunga SBI terhadap harga saham perusahaan automotive and allied products yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2007-2010, (4) mengetahui pengaruh Nilai tukar rupiah terhadap harga saham perusahaan automotive and allied products yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia periode 2007-2010. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian kausal komparatif kuantitatif dengan pendekatan ex post facto. Sampel diambil menggunakan teknik purposive sampling. Sampel berjumlah 13 perusahaan dari 19 perusahaan automotive and allied products yang terdaftar di Bursa Efek Indonesia selama periode 2007-2010. Dengan demikian data penelitian yang dianalisis berjumlah 52. Teknik analisis data yang digunakan adalah uji asumsi klasik dan analisis regresi linear sederhana. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan bahwa ROA berpengaruh positif dan signifikan terhadap harga saham perusahaan automotive and allied products di BEI periode 2007-2010 dengan koefisien regresi 0,644 dan t-hitung sebesar 3.314 > t-tabel sebesar 2,008 pada signifikansi 0,002 < 5%. DER berpengaruh negatif tetapi tidak signifikan terhadap harga saham dengan koefisien regresi - 0,096 dan t-hitung (mutlak) dari - 0.508 5%. Tingkat suku bunga SBI berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan terhadap harga saham dengan koefisien regresi - 2,571 dan t-hitung (mutlak) dari -2.085 > t-tabel sebesar 2,008 pada signifikansi 0,042 < 5%. Sedangkan Nilai tukar rupiah berpengaruh negatif dan signifikan dengan koefisien regresi - 5,157 dan t-hitung (mutlak) dari -2.090 > t-tabel sebesar 2,008 pada signifikansi 0,042 < 5%. Kata Kunci : Return on Assets (ROA), Debt to Equity Ratio (DER), Tingkat suku bunga SBI, Nilai tukar rupiah, dan Harga saham

Validating foundry technologies for extended mission profiles

This paper presents a process qualification and characterization strategy that can extend the foundry process reliability potential to meet specific automotive mission profile requirements. In this case study, data and analyses are provided that lead to sufficient confidence for pushing the allowed mission profile envelope of a process towards more aggressive (automotive) applications.\ud \u

Eco-innovation practices’ adoption in the automotive industry

Eco-innovation is a construct that is gaining increasing interest from academics and researchers since it is commonly considered in the literature as one of the strategies that allow manufacturing companies not only to significantly reduce the negative impacts on the environment but also the generation of pollutants. However, little is known about the adoption of eco-innovation practices in manufacturing companies, particularly in the automotive industry. Therefore, this research has as main objective to fill this gap in the literature and explore the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management. The study is conducted through a research framework consisting of 3 measurement scales, 14 items and 3 hypotheses and an extensive review of the literature. A self-administered questionnaire was distributed to a sample of 460 companies in the automotive and auto parts industry in Mexico. Data were analyzed through Confirmatory Factor Analysis, Descriptive Statistics and Structural Equation Modelling. The results obtained show that product eco-innovation, process eco-innovation and management eco-innovation are good indicators for the adoption of eco-innovation practices for companies in the automotive and auto parts industry. The paper addresses a research gap in the academic literature in the eco-innovation field by providing evidence on the interdependence between eco-innovation of products, processes and management and the implementation of their practices in the automotive industry.N/