The Detroit Free Press has some depressing numbers on the U.S. Auto Industry:
General Motors Corp., the world's largest automaker, lost an average of $1,227 per vehicle sold in North America during the first half of 2005, the most of any U.S. automaker, according to an industry analyst.
Ford Motor Co., the second-biggest U.S. car maker, had a loss of $139 per vehicle, while DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group produced a profit of $186, Laurie Felax, vice president of Harbour Consulting in Troy, said Monday.
Not surprisingly, the Asian makers fare far better, with Nissan (NASD: NSANY) leading the pack with profits of $1826/car, followed by Toyota (NYSE: TM) at $1488, and then Honda (NYSE: HMC) with $1203.
Considering that General Motors (NYSE: GM) currently employs 10,000 idle workers collecting a total annual salary of $1.3 BIllion dollars, sunch gross inefficiency is hardly surprising.
And with Oil crossing $70+/barrel and people clamoring for hybrids, GM is banking on...a new batch of SUVs and trucks to revive their fotune:
GM said its operations outside North America are on track to meet or exceed 2005 targets, but gave no forecast for its North American operations, the company's largest unit. Earlier this year, GM cut its earnings forecast before saying it would give no further estimates for the rest of the year.
Mr. Wagoner said he anticipates material costs will decrease in 2006 and sees progress on reducing health-care costs, a key point in negotiations with the United Auto Workers union. Mr. Wagoner declined to give details on the status of the talks.
He and other GM executives expressed optimism over the launch early next year of its new pickups and SUVs, products that generate big profits for the auto maker. GM's North American operations showed a loss of $2.5 billion for the first six months of the year, the result of deteriorating market share and lower sales of its aging large SUVs, such as the Chevrolet Suburban and Tahoe. The company is counting on its new range of full-size SUVs, known as the GMT-900 series.
But the new vehicles will hit the market at a time of rising gasoline prices. Earlier this year, GM insisted gas prices were having little impact on its SUV sales, but yesterday Paul Ballew, executive director of global market and industry analysis, said GM thinks fuel prices will keep GM's new SUVs from hitting the record sales levels of a few years ago.
(Found Via Autoblog)
Given how long it will take you to finish and if it is something you have a passion for then go for it.
Posted by: yiwu china | December 27, 2010 at 08:01 AM