Elm Analytics - Automotive Supply Chain Risk Digest #52 - February 2 - 8, 2018
INDUSTRY DIRECTIONS
Honda sees China overtaking the US as its biggest market for cars.
Deloitte has released its 2018 Global Automotive Supplier Study.
Bloomberg does a deep dive on: The Breakneck Rise of China’s Colossus of Electric-Car Batteries.
LABOR DISPUTE
Germany's labor union, IG Metall, struck a deal to reduce hours from 35 to 28 to look after their families. Employees will also get a 4.3% pay increase, instead of the original demand of a 6% increase.
LITIGATION
GM has submitted a petition, its third in three years, to the US government asking to be left out of the most recent Takata airbag recall. They say the inflators were custom made for them and that there have been no reports of inflators in its trucks exploding.
Mitsubishi Aluminum, Tachibana Metal Co, Diamet Corp have all been found to have tampered with inspection data.
MERGERS, VENTURES, ACQUISITIONS
Chinese automaker Geely has reportedly bought shares in Daimler. Daimler had turned down an offer from Geely last November to take a stake of up to 5% via a discounted share placement.
Belgian fuel system supplier Punch Powertrain is acquiring French power electronics supplier Apojee.
Gestamp is opening a new JV plant with Moroccan auto supplier Tuyauto in Kenitra, Morocco. The first of its kind plant will open in 2019 and create 120 jobs.
Continental has made a deal to use Nvidia's DRIVE autonomous vehicle platform for their full scale, top-to-bottom autonomous driving system. Nvidia made similar deals with Bosch and Volvo last year.
PLANT EXPANSION
Aisin Drivetrain is investing $16m into the expansion of its manufacturing plant in Crothersville, Indiana. The investment will be used to purchase new equipment and create up to 47 new jobs by the end of the year.
PLANT OPENING
A second FAW-Volkswagen assembly plant will be opened in March in Changchun, China. The factory will produce up to 300k vehicles, starting with the Audi Q5 crossover.
Cooper Tire will open its largest distribution center in the US this fall in Northern Mississippi.
PLANT SHUTDOWN
BASF said it was temporarily ramping down its Geismar, Louisiana plant. The shutdown was due to disruptions at an external supplier of carbon monoxide. The plant makes chemicals for soft foams (TDI or toluene diisocyanate) used in car seats. This news comes after purity issues with BASF TDI last fall. The group has declared force majeure, suspending its contractual obligations to customers.
REGULATION
VW is the first automaker to sign a tax exemption deal with the Russian government. This exempts imported and domestic components for exported vehicles and parts. VW expects to export 40k engines from its Kaluga plant on top of 10k Skoda Octavia vehicles in 2018.
Recent US tax cuts may not have had intended effect on domestic automakers.
WIRED: Outdated Auto Safety Regulations Threaten the Self-Driving Revolution
SUPPLY CHAIN
Taiwan was rocked by a 6.4 magnitude earthquake centered 14 miles north of the city of Hualien this week. The quake caused 7 deaths and left 67 others missing.
The Greek port of Piraeus has surprised clients with a 34% increase in finished vehicle handling rates. The port is one of the biggest terminals for finished vehicles in the Mediterranean.