Chrysler ties Toyota for most productive plants in North America
The Harbour Report released today reveals that the Big 3 gained major ground in closing the productivity gap with Japanese automakers building vehicles in North America last year. The report found that Chrysler had actually improved enough to tie Toyota as the most productive multi-plant manufacturer on the continent, with both automakers spending an average of 30.37 hours to build a vehicle. The most productive single plant in North America also belongs to Chrysler, as the once experimental Toledo Supplier Park takes just 13.57 labor hours to build a Jeep. For their parts, General Motors plants averaged 32.29 hours per vehicle and Ford plants averaged 33.88 hours per vehicle, both an improvement over last year’s numbers.
The news was not all good, however, as the report found that despite improving their productivity, the Big 3 are still unable to match the Japanese in profit made per vehicle. While Honda and Nissan earned $1,641 per vehicle built in North American last year and Toyota earned $922, Chrysler lost $412 per vehicle and GM and Ford lost $729 and $1,467 per vehicle, respectively. Much of those losses come from high health care costs and profit-shrinking incentives required to move less popular vehicles like trucks and SUVs. The Harbour Report suggests, however, that employee buyouts and those new contracts with the UAW that get them off the hook for retiree health care will improve the Big 3’s profit per vehicle dramatically.
Check out the lengthy press release from the Harbour Report after the jump if you’re into digging through the nitty gritty details.
[Source: The Harbour Report]
Continue reading Chrysler ties Toyota for most productive plants in North America
Just less than a year ago, the Big 3 domestic automakers’ combined market share dropped to less than 50-percent of the overall automobile market. That sobering statistic was made factual when the combined sales of vehicles from both Asian countries, such as Japan and Korea, were combined with sales from European companies, like Volkswagen, BMW and Mercedes-Benz. It seems that this sad state of affairs did little to stop the bleeding coming from Detroit, as last month marks the first time in history that Asian automakers alone, with a combined share of 47.8-percent, sold more vehicles in the United States than companies actually based there. Ouch.
Large pickup trucks and SUV’s have long been the last stronghold for Detroit’s struggling automakers. While the Big 3 still have a commanding lead in sales of these large vehicles, it’s the smaller, more fuel efficient vehicles which are taking the largest bite from the overall market share pie. Record-high fuel prices have put such a damper on truck sales that a shocking five vehicles outsold the F-150 last month, all of them highly practical sedans. It seems easy to see, then, where Detroit should be spending what engineering dollars it has left.
[Source: The Detroit News]
Tags: automaker, BMW, Chrysler, engine, Ford, fuel, Jeep, mercedes benz, Nissan, pickup, Sedan, suv, Toyota, truck, Volkswagen
