November 14, 2018
By Jennifer Compton
A major capital improvement project in Dover (click here) is more than $1 million over budget, and officials said tariffs on steel are at least partly to blame.
This is where it gets interesting though. One would expect the price of steel to increase because there was less production, but, that isn't happening. There is a surplus of steel in China, so the cost dropped. GM is trying to estimate it's cost with increases in steel tariffs. Once China sells it's surplus the prices will increase, hence, GM may be ahead of the curve in that it sees the increase coming.
I also believe CEO of GM, Mary Barra has built in some liquidity in her decision making when it comes to plant closings, however, she is absolutely correct in knowing the fall in CAR sales seems absolute. There is an increase in athletic interests in the USA.
So, with a rise in costs due to tariffs and expecting steel costs to escalate after the glut is gone from China, GM has to survive the radical changes within the economy. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR MARGINAL CHANGES AT GM. The company is huge.
February 22, 2018
By Kyle Stock
...And then there are the toys. (click here) Emboldened by a bullish stock market and catalyzed by cheap credit, U.S. consumers have been spending liberally on big gear. Last year, Americans bought about 270,000 new boats, almost 50,000 more than they did in 2014, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. They also bought roughly 442,000 tow-able campers, a 41 percent increase from 2014, according to the RV Industry Association.
On Outdoorsy, a sort of Airbnb for recreational vehicles, roughly half the renters are under age 40, and 43 percent of the rigs available to rent are tow-able RVs. “Millennials don’t necessarily like to sit around in camp chairs and get drunk,” said CEO and co-founder Jeff Cavins. “They take everything with them: mountain bikes, paddleboard, camera equipment. … There’s a massive thirst for adventure.”...
November 26, 2018This is where it gets interesting though. One would expect the price of steel to increase because there was less production, but, that isn't happening. There is a surplus of steel in China, so the cost dropped. GM is trying to estimate it's cost with increases in steel tariffs. Once China sells it's surplus the prices will increase, hence, GM may be ahead of the curve in that it sees the increase coming.
I also believe CEO of GM, Mary Barra has built in some liquidity in her decision making when it comes to plant closings, however, she is absolutely correct in knowing the fall in CAR sales seems absolute. There is an increase in athletic interests in the USA.
So, with a rise in costs due to tariffs and expecting steel costs to escalate after the glut is gone from China, GM has to survive the radical changes within the economy. THERE IS NO ROOM FOR MARGINAL CHANGES AT GM. The company is huge.
February 22, 2018
By Kyle Stock
...And then there are the toys. (click here) Emboldened by a bullish stock market and catalyzed by cheap credit, U.S. consumers have been spending liberally on big gear. Last year, Americans bought about 270,000 new boats, almost 50,000 more than they did in 2014, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. They also bought roughly 442,000 tow-able campers, a 41 percent increase from 2014, according to the RV Industry Association.
On Outdoorsy, a sort of Airbnb for recreational vehicles, roughly half the renters are under age 40, and 43 percent of the rigs available to rent are tow-able RVs. “Millennials don’t necessarily like to sit around in camp chairs and get drunk,” said CEO and co-founder Jeff Cavins. “They take everything with them: mountain bikes, paddleboard, camera equipment. … There’s a massive thirst for adventure.”...
26 November 2018
...Global steel margins (click here) have been well supported since early 2017, when China began shutting illegal scrap induction furnaces. That left China short on construction steels, allowing blast furnace-based steelmakers to expand output. Much of the illegal output went unreported in official statistics.
China's crude steel output hit a record high in October at 82.55mn t, putting its year-to-date output up by 6.4pc at 782.46mn t and on track to surpass 900mn t for 2018, around half of the world's total supply. With China's growth slowing for its real estate and infrastructure investment, its steel supply is now in surplus and increasingly showing up in seaborne spot markets. Six months ago, its mills did not sell into export. Today they are slashing offers, sending the Argus Chinese export rebar price down by $19/t to $494/t fob China today....
By Mara McDonald
...The cost-cutting plan (click here) includes closing the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant and Warren Transmission Operations in Warren.
GM isn't making money on cars. It's making money on trucks and SUVs. All the cuts are coming from the decision to get rid of six car models, including the Buick LaCrosse, the Cadillac CT6 and XTS, and the Chevrolet Cruze, Impala and Volt.
"They forget (that) the taxpayers, our membership, the communities, the politicians all came to them in their darkest day. There was no jobs with a bankrupt GM, but this is how we in America are repaid," said UAW GM Vice President Terry Dittes.
There are 1,500 employees at the General Motors Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly plant and another 335 at the Warren Transmission plant. The other shutdowns are in Ohio, Baltimore and Ontario.
"There's people in there bawling their eyes out. I've never seen anything like it," Dittes said.
GM offered a buyout to 18,000 salaried workers this month, but only about 2,200 took it. The company said layoffs were likely if it didn't get enough takers. Union workers affected have the opportunity to relocate if jobs are available elsewhere.
