Posted on 08/18/2013 10:32:38 AM PDT by Kaslin
US car makers are cranking out cars three shifts a day. The goal is to run plants around the clock, 365 days a year, even eliminating breaks.
Please consider Open All Night: America's Car Factories.
Nearly 40% of car factories in North America now operate on work schedules that push production well past 80 hours a week, compared with 11% in 2008, said Ron Harbour, a senior partner with the Oliver Wyman Inc. management consulting firm.Who is Buying Cars?
"There has never been a time in the U.S. industry that we've had this high a level of capacity utilization," he said.
But fresh from a near-death experience during the recession, auto makers are reluctant to put money into bricks, mortar and machinery that could become a drag on profits if car sales fall. Volkswagen new $1 billion Chattanooga, Tenn., factory recently cut 500 workers after sales of its new Passat sedan swooned.
Through a series of agreements negotiated with the United Auto Workers union, the Detroit Three now can schedule work at night and on weekends without paying as much in overtime as they would have in the past. Adding a third shift, as many plants have done, also reduces overtime. Overtime pay also starts after 40 hours a week, not after eight hours a day as in the past. On top of those savings, a newly hired Big Three factory worker now earns about $15 an hour versus $28 an hour for veteran workers, under postrecession labor pacts.
Toledo factory managers recently changed break schedules to squeeze out even more production. Instead of shutting down the assembly line eight times a day for routine breaks, they have hired extra workers to fill in during breaks, so the line doesn't stop running.
GM is running six of its U.S. plants through the night on three-shift schedules. Last year, GM produced 3.24 million vehicles in North America compared with 4.52 million in 2007—when it had five more assembly factories.
Ford has gone a step further, adding a fourth crew of workers at some engine and transmission plants to keep those factories running 152 hours out of the 168 hours in a week.
The techniques have helped expand production by 600,000 vehicles during the past 15 months—the equivalent of about three assembly plants, says James Tetreault, Ford's vice president of North America manufacturing. Ford doesn't plan to build a new North American assembly plant, he says.
"In an ideal world, we'd like all our plants to run around the clock, 365 days a year," says Mr. Tetreault. "That would be a financial dream. But we don't know how to do that yet."
In recent years, auto makers have developed a bevy of pint-size models like the Chevy Sonic, Fiat, Ford Fiesta and Kia Soul, and promoted them using social-media, music festival sponsorships, and in some cases, daredevil stunts. To hype the new Chevy Sonic, General Motors Co. filmed the subcompact parachuting out of a plane for an online campaign aimed squarely at 18-to-30-year-olds.Millennial Generation "Big Prize"
But the largest customers for these cars, about 42% of buyers this year through May, are closer to retirement age, according to registration data compiled by car-shopping website Edmunds.com. The proportion is up from just 29% five years ago.
Meantime, the percentage of 18- to 34-year-olds buying new subcompact cars fell to 12% through May, down from 17% in 2008, according to registration data.
Of course, 50 and 60-somethings are some of the biggest buyers of all cars.
"The baby boomer generation is the largest cohort in the marketplace," Kia's Mr. Sprague said. "Just by virtue of their numbers being so large, we'll continue to see them skew the data for a long time."
Last year, buyers 55 and older accounted for more than 40% of all new car sales, up from 33% in 2008 while buyers between the ages of 18 and 34 represented only 12% of new-car purchases. And that is down from 14% five years ago, according to Edmunds.com.
Auto makers' big prize is the "Millennial Generation"—that group of consumers in their 20s and 30s whose numbers could rival the postwar baby boom that has dominated the auto market for decades.
Again Red America wake up. You are fueling the UAW, yet you think you look all-American values with car/ truck of yours enjoying your country life, all while that county is being taken away from you. Go figure. Sounds typical GOP to me.
No problem, I was just curious and didn’t think you did
BUY NON-LIBERAL AMERICAN. LET THE LIBERALS SUPPORT THEMSELVES (IN DETROIT).
The reason why they are good on gas is because they are lighter
Indeed...My household will not consider another UAW product.
Best deal out there:
Ram 1500 with hemi 5.7. Race car engine, outstanding handling, and excellent cab features. All starting at 22K.
Ram 1500 , hemi 5.7 is a good motor , current bodystyle looks good too , the transmission they use SUCKS ... MoPar single handedly keeps tranny shops in business. “Outstanding Handling” ,, maybe our definitions differ ,, I see handling as good road feel and getting around a corner real quick with good balance... you NEVER get good balance in a truck because of the wide variance between loaded and unloaded rear weight ,, maybe your definition just means “plows ahead straight and true with minimal driver input” ,, and then don’t get me started on MoPar interiors ,,, the plastic is so bad that on their NEW Jeep products the interior door panels crack apart leaving the door handles flopping around http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3le7u3scEfs ... I’m in Florida , we have SUN here ,, when was the last time you saw a Dodge that didn’t have a full length crack in the dash?
Not a fan?
Handling, well it is a truck. But having spent all week test driving Ford, GMC, Tundra, and the Ram. The RAM wins in my book. I especially loved the light touch steering, the excellent throttle response, and the smooth ride.
The interior: has all the features you could want. Nice stereo, instruments simple and easy to understand, cup holders galore, various trays, etc. Nice storage areas in the center console and behind the seats of the single cab.
As for the transmission, I don’t know enough about that. My brother has a 1500 with 100,000 miles and no problems. I suppose you can find others who have a different experience. I guess I will find out for myself because I think I am going to buy one in the near future.
Compared to the others I looked at, RAM seems to be a better value. Ford and GMC were several thousand dollars more for similar options. The Tundra, don’t get me going there, they were even more pricey then Ford and GMC.
I don’t get it. I think I read the to other day that the average age of cars on the road is ELEVEN years? Our are 7, 9 and 4 or 5, can’t remember which.
No need or desire to replace any of them for the foreseeable future ‘cept I want to retool before all the monitoring and fuel economy rot kick in. It won’t be with GM or Chrysler though. That is a certainty.
I bought what might be my last car or second to last car. Expected to go 3 to 400K and gas milage is good.
Excellent points. GM has definitely been off my list since it became government motors. Now I’m not so sure about Ford, or domestically made foreign brands, either.
In the same vein, I avoid going to the movies. I do not like to put money in the pockets of those who use it against me. Especially when so many of today’s movies are thinly veiled propaganda.
As I stated: my 1999 was brandy new off the lot, got 220k on it now, and both cars are American-made. Right now, I am strongly leaning Ford all the way (daughters serious boyfriend is certified Ford master mechanic!)...
We buy 1 yr old cars and pay cash for them. We get really great deals.
In 2007 we paid cash for a 2006 Jaguar S Type.
Saved the equivalent of payments since then and just paid cash for a Mercedes GLK SUV.
Now we have 2 very nice cars that are completely paid for. We will have them for many many years since we put low miles on them.
“GM is producing less cars with less assembly factories. Is this supposed to be a good thing?”
Actually, yes, it is. Overcapacity was killing this industry. Well, overcapacity and an intrasigent union that finally, partially came to it’s senses.
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