Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #25 - July 29 - August 4, 2017
CHANGE IN MANAGEMENT
GM's European engineering chief William Bertagni is leaving his current position to lead the company's engineering operations in China. He has been named VP for vehicle engineering in China and president of the Pan Asia Technical Automotive Center.
EARNING DIP
US car sales continued their decline for the seventh month in a row in July.
HUMAN CAPITAL
The Michigan auto industry is facing a tool-and-die talent shortage, according to the President of Ann Arbor's Center for Automotive Research, Jay Baron. Tool-and-die shop numbers dropped by a third between 1997 and 2012 and today's average U.S. toolmaker is about 52 years old.
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
Auto industry analyst Paul Eichenberg suggests that the increasing electrification of vehicles could be a bad thing for as many as 75 of the top 100 automotive suppliers. He says that "Many CEOs are so focused on this quarter's earnings that they are not seeing the future."
Transformation, Disruption, Uncertainty? These were hot topics at the Management Briefing Seminars, where many gathered to forecast the future.
Continental expects German automakers to shift away from diesel.
A new study from IHS Markit shows that US car buyers are willing to pay an extra $780-1000 for fully autonomous vehicles.
LABOR DISPUTE
The National Labor Relations Board has filed an unfair labor practice complaint against Nissan just ahead of a union vote at its Canton, MS assembly plant.
Indonesia's busiest and largest container terminal is facing a large, extended labor strike.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Toyota and Mazda have announced a new partnership in which the two companies will both buy 5% of the other company's shares. They are also investing $1.6b into a new US plant that will employ up to 4,000 and open in 2021.
Nanjing Nangang (Fosun) has acquired Koller Beteiligungs, a supplier that specializes in lightweight components. Koller, based in Dietfurt, Germany, produces injection molded composite parts and pressing tools.
Germany's ZF says it is still positioned for large takeovers (post 2015 TRW). This follows unsuccessful bids for Wabco and Haldex.
The European Commission has approved a joint venture between China's Hubei Aviation Precision Machinery Technology and Magna International. The new company will produce seating components for the Chinese market.
PLANT OPENING
France's Plastic Omnium will open four plants in Asia and North America in 2018. One plant will open in China, one in India and two in the United States (including the pilot plant in Greer, South Carolina).
S&A Industries, a supplier of ducting and noise vibration damping products to Toyota, GM and others, is building a new $4M plant in New Albany, MS that will create 40 new jobs. Construction begins in 2018.
Robert Bosch broke ground on a new factory in Nanjing, China. The facility will produce regenerative braking systems for hybrid and electric vehicles.
REGULATION
In a summit with top politicians in Berlin, Daimler, BMW, Volkswagen, and Opel have agreed to cut emissions by updating software in five million diesel vehicles.
The SELF DRIVE Act, which aims to regulate evolving autonomous vehicle development, has been unanimously approved the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee. The act updates Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards to account for advances in technology.