WCA March 2007

From the Americas

striking statistics: about 25% of international patents filed in the United States in 2006 were submitted by immigrants.

vehicles per year including the 1.3-litre Mazda Demio, intended mainly for the North American market. Mazda’s longer-range plans include a factory of its own, possibly in Mexico, to start operations after 2010. In other news of DaimlerChrysler , the company on 3rd January said a proposed joint venture with China Motor Corp to make vans had won the approval of Beijing, paving the way for expanded capacity in China. According to a Beijing-based DaimlerChrysler spokesman, Daimler, China Motor, and the Fujian Motor Industry Group received permission from the Ministry of Commerce for a $264 million venture to build as many as 40,000 Mercedes-Benz vans a year. Meanwhile, as reported in Indiatimes.com (3 rd January), DaimlerChrysler India realised volume sales growth of 11% last year and sees ‘immense potential’ for even more buoyant growth ahead. Also in 2006, the DaimlerChrysler Research and Technology Center – the US company’s R&D unit in Bangalore – completed 10 years in India. ❖ The grade 6.5 earthquake in the ocean off Taiwan on 26 th December jolted Chunghwa’s undersea cables and disrupted communication between the US and China. When the fibre optic cables owned by the largest Taiwanese telecom operator were damaged, call volume fell by half and Internet usage slowed to a crawl. The routes were restored fairly quickly, but according to experts the episode highlights the vulnerability of international telecommunications in a global economy that has grown dependent on real-time connectivity. According to Einnews.com , the earthquake and aftershocks that jolted Asia for hours and reverberated in broken US-China connections for weeks also raised the stakes for $500 million in planned investment in new trans- Pacific undersea cables. (‘Earthquake Exposes Worldwide Telecommunications Vulnerabilities,’ 28 th December). “Natural disasters can expose weaknesses in global communications,” said Ken Zita, chairman of the Pacific Telecommunications Council conference ‘PTC’07: Beyond Telecom,’ 14 th -17 th January in Honolulu, Hawaii (US) “Despite the latest network management technologies, traffic concentration remains susceptible to strong natural hazards.” PTC’07 was expected to draw telecom executives from over 60 countries to discuss emergency communications and disaster management. Session topics included rapid deployment of communications tools in times of disaster and the establishment of emergency tactical plans for critical communications facilities. Founded in 1980, the Pacific Telecommunications Council is an international non-profit organisation, based in Honolulu, with a mission to promote the development, understanding, and beneficial use of telecommunications and information technology throughout the Pacific region. According to David Lassner, who heads the PTC board of governors, the earthquake off Taiwan underscores Telecom Experts say communications disaster planning is urgent

Automotive

Toyota surpasses DaimlerChrysler as No 3 in the US

Toyota Motor Corp had its best year ever in 2006, with sales of more than 2.5 million vehicles giving it a boost of 12.9% for the year. The Japanese company’s market share rose more than two percentage points, up from 13.3% at the end of 2005. Toyota also pushed past Detroit’s DaimlerChrysler as the No 3 auto seller in the US for the first time during a calendar year. According to figures released on 3 rd January by Autodata Inc (Rochester, Minnesota), Toyota ended 2006 with 15.4% of the US automotive market, compared with DaimlerChrysler’s 13.3%. Industry analysts credited Toyota’s success to its reputation for quality and fuel efficiency as high gasoline prices over much of the year sent American consumers back to cars from fuel-guzzling trucks and sport utility vehicles. Ford Motor Co ended 2006 with 16.4% of the US market, retaining its No 2 position, despite having been eclipsed in sales by Toyota for the first time in July and again in November. But Ford almost certainly will be surrendering second place to Toyota before very long. Having lost $7 billion during the first three quarters of 2006, Ford is now launched on a major restructuring to shrink its factory capacity. The other member of Detroit’s Big Three producers – General Motors Corp, the world’s largest automaker – reported a drop of 8.7% in sales for 2006 compared with 2005. Its market share was 24.3% for 2006, with just over 4 million vehicles sold. Industrywide, US sales dropped 2.6% for 2006 to about 16.5 million from just under 17 million in 2005, Autodata said. Of related interest . . . To gain access to a growing segment of the automotive market in which it now has no significant position, the Chrysler Group of DaimlerChrysler AG has agreed with China’s Chery Automobile Co on a plan for the Chinese manufacturer to build small cars to be sold worldwide. They will be offered through Chrysler dealerships in the US, Europe, and elsewhere under the Chrysler Group brand Dodge, Chrysler, or Jeep. According to a Chrysler spokesman the cars, still in the design stage, are to be based on an existing model but modified by Chrysler and Chery engineers. Chrysler had wanted for some time to enter the global market for small cars, but was deterred by the high labour and other costs of production in the United States. In another joint small-car initiative, together with its major shareholder Ford Motor Co , of the US, Mazda Motor Corp of Japan plans to invest more than $430 million to build a plant in Thailand. The Tokyo- based business daily Nihon Keizai had reported last autumn that Mazda was set on playing a key role in Ford’s small-car operations to exploit growing demand for fuel-efficient Mazdas in the US and Europe. The paper said Mazda and Ford want to begin operations in 2009 at the Thai plant, which is to roll out some 200,000 ❖ ❖

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Wire & Cable ASIA – March/April 2007