Big Three Had Banner December and 2015

I don't know who are the big winners when I see such glowing stories? Someone[[s) have to be.

Detroit and S.E. Michigan? Stockholders? The laborers across the globe who make the vehicles? UAW members who collect profit sharing checks? The automobile dealers and sales persons across the country who sell them? The states which collect sales taxes on the automobile sales?

All of the above? :)

The one thing I feel bad about, and it is more in the area of say consumer electronics: When I buy a nice phone or tablet or HD television it might be good for Best Buy but doesn't do a lot for the U.S. economy [[might be doing more to help the Korean economy).

What made America great industrially years ago, Ford would make steel, stamp the steel, make parts, assemble automobiles, ship the cars across country [[and the dealers) would sell those cars.

Each car created a lot of work for many workers up the supply chain and across other areas of employment.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ales/78295542/

http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/05/news...d=hp-stack-dom

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Originally Posted by emu steve

I don't know who are the big winners when I see such glowing stories? Someone[[s) have to be.

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The UAW, United Asian Workers.

Citizens of the world should be glad that Koreans are doing well.

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Originally Posted by Honky Tonk

The UAW, United Asian Workers.

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Those United Asian Workers will be putting 1/2 billion dollars into Michigan's economy during 2016 thanks to the Big 3's success.

Thanks Obama for your part in slowing Michigan's rapid regression towards the likeness of Mississippi!!!

Based on this article, Michigan lost 326,000 UAW members from 2002 to 2014. That's a 35% drop in membership. That means a drop of 326,000 bonus checks. Not sure what the average bonus check is right now. If I assume 5 grand and multiply by 326,000 then I come up with 1.6 billion. What I see when I come back to Michigan is that the wealth is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ship/22214357/

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Originally Posted by Wesley Mouch

Citizens of the world should be glad that Koreans are doing well.

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If we had left the Koreans alone to fight it out amongst themselves seventy years ago, we might have avoided a split that exists to this day. Either way, the Koreans make damned good commies and on the other hand they are cracking capitalists too.

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Originally Posted by bibs

Based on this article, Michigan lost 326,000 UAW members from 2002 to 2014. That's a 35% drop in membership. That means a drop of 326,000 bonus checks. Not sure what the average bonus check is right now. If I assume 5 grand and multiply by 326,000 then I come up with 1.6 billion. What I see when I come back to Michigan is that the wealth is being concentrated into fewer and fewer hands.

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ship/22214357/

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While not mentioned in the article, a lot of those losses are probably due to retirements and attrition. RTW laws that let UAW members get a "free ride" if they choose not to pay dues, aren't helping either.

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Originally Posted by Cincinnati_Kid

While not mentioned in the article, a lot of those losses are probably due to retirements and attrition. RTW laws that let UAW members get a "free ride" if they choose not to pay dues, aren't helping either.

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Yeah, That's it, all the freeloaders retired.

http://www.detroitnews.com/picture gallery/business/autos/2016/01/05/top-10-best-selling-vehicles-of-record-year/78323724/

Outside of pick-ups, not one Big 3 vehicle in the top ten. They could use a winner. I really thought the Fusion or Escape would outsell the Altima.

Cheese and Rice! I don't know what to believe!

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-01-05/us-auto-sales-plunge-6-month-lows-biggest-miss-nov-2008


http://www.autonews.com/article/2016...autonews-daily

Like I said I don't know what to believe...

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...-went-bankrupt

As an engineer with one of the big 2, I would say 2014 and 2015 were good and hiring was up but since Summer the company has been cautious and were not hiring like summer 2014.

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Originally Posted by Oddz313

As an engineer with one of the big 2, I would say 2014 and 2015 were good and hiring was up but since Summer the company has been cautious and were not hiring like summer 2014.

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I also work for one of the Big 3 [[I see what you did there) automakers in Engineering.

Part of the bolded is probably due to PTSD from Autopocalypse. I notice everyone in Michigan is still scared to death to spend any money on capital investment or R&D, in fear that 2008-2010 will happen all over again.

The executives have already confirmed they're operating at this point as if we've reached the peak of the auto boom, since on average a downturn happens every 6 years or so.

But the problem is, if we do continue to experience record auto sales as analysts are predicting over the next 2 years, the automakers are really going to be in trouble as they won't have enough capacity and manpower on hand to meet demand [[we kind of started to see this already with GM delaying the release of its diesel pickups and Ford delaying the release of its F-150).

Another issue is that the average age of employees at the Big 3 automakers is well into the 50+ range [[during Autopocalypse, the leaders decided to use the FIFO method to reduce head cout). There's going to be a huge vacuum of talent and experience departing over the next 5-10 years and that will cause trouble for the automakers as well if they don't start investing money to train and pass along their knowledge to Millennials.

So, they're sort of like a rock stuck in a hard place right now. Sure, we don't want them channel-surfing like they did in the 50s-60s and the late 90s, but they can't expect to be very successful either if they're trying to get by operating on a skeleton crew with outdated infrastructure.

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Originally Posted by 313WX

I also work for one of the Big 3 [[I see what you did there) automakers in Engineering.

Part of the bolded is probably due to PTSD from Autopocalypse. I notice everyone in Michigan is still scared to death to spend any money on capital investment or R&D, in fear that 2008-2010 will happen all over again.

The executives have already confirmed they're operating at this point as if we've reached the peak of the auto boom, since on average a downturn happens every 6 years or so.

But the problem is, if we do continue to experience record auto sales as analysts are predicting over the next 2 years, the automakers are really going to be in trouble as they won't have enough capacity and manpower on hand to meet demand [[we kind of started to see this already with GM delaying the release of its diesel pickups and Ford delaying the release of its F-150).

Another issue is that the average age of employees at the Big 3 automakers is well into the 50+ range [[during Autopocalypse, the leaders decided to use the FIFO method to reduce head cout). There's going to be a huge vacuum of talent and experience departing over the next 5-10 years and that will cause trouble for the automakers as well if they don't start investing money to train and pass along their knowledge to Millennials.

So, they're sort of like a rock stuck in a hard place right now. Sure, we don't want them channel-surfing like they did in the 50s-60s and the late 90s, but they can't expect to be very successful either if they're trying to get by operating on a skeleton crew with outdated infrastructure.

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I agree, I'm at the old end of the millenials but they are looking for experience without providing it most of the time and they are so lean that most DREs are over worked and over extended all the time. Many recent graduates after doing an internship around there don't want anything to do with it.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by 313WX

I also work for one of the Big 3 [[I see what you did there) automakers in Engineering.

Part of the bolded is probably due to PTSD from Autopocalypse. I notice everyone in Michigan is still scared to death to spend any money on capital investment or R&D, in fear that 2008-2010 will happen all over again.

The executives have already confirmed they're operating at this point as if we've reached the peak of the auto boom, since on average a downturn happens every 6 years or so.

But the problem is, if we do continue to experience record auto sales as analysts are predicting over the next 2 years, the automakers are really going to be in trouble as they won't have enough capacity and manpower on hand to meet demand [[we kind of started to see this already with GM delaying the release of its diesel pickups and Ford delaying the release of its F-150).

Another issue is that the average age of employees at the Big 3 automakers is well into the 50+ range [[during Autopocalypse, the leaders decided to use the FIFO method to reduce head cout). There's going to be a huge vacuum of talent and experience departing over the next 5-10 years and that will cause trouble for the automakers as well if they don't start investing money to train and pass along their knowledge to Millennials.

So, they're sort of like a rock stuck in a hard place right now. Sure, we don't want them channel-surfing like they did in the 50s-60s and the late 90s, but they can't expect to be very successful either if they're trying to get by operating on a skeleton crew with outdated infrastructure.

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I like your points.

Amazing how much pent up demand there still is to carry the auto market.

One thing about employees.

I don't think the average person realizes how much problem there is [[will be) with employees who are at or near retirement eligibility regardless of the sector [[e.g., police, air traffic controllers, etc. etc.) or in the private sector.

Unemployment is at 5% and when large[[r) numbers of baby boomers or equivalent start retiring we could face real labor shortages for skilled workers as they need to be replaced.

Time for corporate America to put 2008 - 9 behind it and adopt more growth orientated HR policies.

One of my friends who is a welder for the pipefitters local told me last night that when he signed up for UIA benefits that 20% of his local was out of work. With no UIA extensions and Snyder cutting 6 weeks off the initial claim I wonder how accurate the unemployment rate is at this point.

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Originally Posted by Oddz313

One of my friends who is a welder for the pipefitters local told me last night that when he signed up for UIA benefits that 20% of his local was out of work. With no UIA extensions and Snyder cutting 6 weeks off the initial claim I wonder how accurate the unemployment rate is at this point.

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I agree. There is two sets of books. One is for, pardon the phrase, "dumb money" and public consumption.

The other set of books is put together by some very smart types paid to study and ferret out the truth and they are paid to do so by "smart money'.

Trust but verify...

General Motors had their best year for Global Sales on record in 2015, with 9.8 million vehicles sold.

But even so, they're still going to fall a few thousand vehicles short of Toyota and VW [[even factoring in Dieselgate).

http://www.detroitnews.com/story/bus...ales/79107322/