Good News for US Automakers

[Midpack]

Not surprising, but seeing it in a graph confirms the narrative. US (and Korean) automakers are gaining share, at the expense of European and especially Japanese makers. I assume China and maybe India will establish a presence one day, but not any time soon?

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Not surprising, but seeing it in a graph confirms the narrative. US (and Korean) automakers are gaining share, at the expense of European and especially Japanese makers. I assume China and maybe India will establish a presence one day, but not any time soon?

IMO this temporary. Basically took a natural disaster to knock Japanese makers down. US automakers have one 800 lb gorilla on their back that Asian automakers don't have (UAW). While Toyota definitely has stumbled in terms of quality and design, I wouldn't bet against them. IMO Foreign car makers will soon employ more Americans building cars than American car makers do.

[rescueme]

Quote:

Originally Posted by jimnjana IMO Foreign car makers will soon employ more Americans building cars than American car makers do.

True. But don't forget that the total new vehicle profit still goes back to the "motherland", regardless of where the car is assembled.

Labor is only one "cost" (along with parts, plant overhead, design/management). While at least the U.S. (worker) is now better off than having the entire car built/sourced in a foreign land, as had been in the past, it is not all of the story as to the financial impact to any car (or other) manufacturer.

[justplainbll]

Guess you are not referring to the 28 Jan 2012 article entitled
U.S. automakers seen losing market share in 2012 ?

U.S. automakers seen losing market share in 2012 | The News Journal | delawareonline.com

[Midpack]

Quote:

Originally Posted by justplainbll Guess you are not referring to the 28 Jan 2012 article entitled U.S. automakers seen losing market share in 2012 ? U.S. automakers seen losing market share in 2012 | The News Journal | delawareonline.com

We know what actually did happen, but I don't pretend to know what will happen in the future.

I have learned that with little effort you can often find a convincing case for either side of any issue online these days.
U.S. Automakers Seen Continuing Global Market Share Gains Over Next Five Years, KPMG Survey Finds - MarketWatch

FWIW, the last American car I bought was in 1978, but I've never rooted against US automakers - I hope they continue to improve their competitiveness.

[jimnjana]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rescueme True. But don't forget that the total new vehicle profit still goes back to the "motherland", regardless of where the car is assembled. Labor is only one "cost" (along with parts, plant overhead, design/management). While at least the U.S. (worker) is now better off than having the entire car built/sourced in a foreign land, as had been in the past, it is not all of the story as to the financial impact to any car (or other) manufacturer.

Yes. I was only pointing out that it is more cost effective for foreign makers to build here because of non union labor costs and the relative weakness of the US dollar especially against the Yen.

[explanade]

Well at least there is still a domestic car industry. There are those who believe we should have let GM and Chrysler fail, taking down the supply chain and probably hurting Ford too.

What kind of a nation would we be if we also completely off shored car production, as we've done with many other manufacturing industries?

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Midpack Not surprising, but seeing it in a graph confirms the narrative. US (and Korean) automakers are gaining share, at the expense of European and especially Japanese makers. I assume China and maybe India will establish a presence one day, but not any time soon?

Would these be the Japanese makers in Kentucky or the Japanese makers in some other U.S. state? And what about the exec at a Mercedes plant in a southeast state who was almost jailed for not having his green card in his wallet?

A GM plant in Detroit will hopefully pump as much money into the local economy as the plant from some overseas company in another U.S. state. That's what I'd hope, anyway.

[explanade]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nords Would these be the Japanese makers in Kentucky or the Japanese makers in some other U.S. state? And what about the exec at a Mercedes plant in a southeast state who was almost jailed for not having his green card in his wallet?

Just heard that on This American Life podcast. The state was Alabama, which passed a very restrictive anti-immigration law where every govt. employee was obliged to check the citizenship status of anyone that they dealt with.

Law was targeted for Hispanic workers (though AL only has like 4% immigration) but state officials jumped through some hoops to reassure Mercedes and Honda, whose employees were also detained, that they're welcome and wouldn't be subject to the law.

[mod edit]