WCA January 2009

In the important Legacy of Place gauge, which looks at share of manufacturing employment, among other factors, the Cleveland metro ranks low; Akron, lower. Brad Whitehead, director of the regional Fund for Our Economic Future, told the Plain Dealer, “We’re too dependent on slow-growth industries,” like auto manufacturing.

Automotive

The ‘Big Three’ persuade Washington, but critics of a timely aid package are unconvinced The US Congress in late September voted in favour of $25 billion in low-interest (around 5%) loans for the ailing domestic auto industry, enabling the car makers to address immediate needs in a period of tight credit and flux in the capital markets. The boost from Washington was construed, in loftier terms, as a means of helping General Motors, Ford Motor, and Chrysler to modernise their plants for the development and production of fuel-efficient vehicles. The aid package does, indeed, require auto makers to invest in cars that achieve 25% better fuel mileage than similar vehicles in the same class, and much early commentary emphasised that goal – together with job security. “American auto companies are facing huge challenges,” said Sen Carl Levin, the Michigan Democrat whose constituency includes Detroit. “[The loans] will help our companies stay competitive in the global marketplace and ensure that these technologies enter the market place and continue to be manufactured in America.” “It’s a huge victory for our members, for US manufacturing companies, and for American consumers,” said United Auto Workers (UAW) president Ron Gettelfinger. “This is a smart investment that will speed the introduction of more fuel-efficient vehicles and also create tens of thousands of good-paying US manufacturing jobs.” But critics of the congressional beneficence point out that many foreign auto makers with factories in the US face similar problems to those confronting the domestics. As noted by Antonio Perez in the Epoch Times (“US Gives $25 Billion to Auto Industry,” 30 th September), these voices assert that the US auto industry “should face market realities and stop portraying itself as a victim.” That view was expressed in an editorial in the Christian Science Monitor: “Despite a slowing US economy, Toyota and Honda saw only single-digit losses in their August sales. Nissan’s sales were up. Those companies know how to run successful auto manufacturing plants in the US and aren’t asking for help.” (“How Not to Rescue the Big Three,” 5 th September). Detroit, the Boston-based editors claim, “is no more deserving than many other US industries – textiles, furniture, toys – that have failed to compete well against foreign companies.” The same Ron Gettelfinger quoted above also welcomed ❖ ❖ another piece of news affecting the union he heads. But this time the UAW membership at a Mitsubishi plant in the central Illinois city of Normal ratified a contract

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Wire & Cable ASIA – January/February 2009