TOP 100 TRANSPORTATION AND LOGISTICS SITES
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| Looks Like GM, Chrysler Are Goners Tom Lindmark submits:The WSJ says that Chrysler, the government and the bank holdouts are still negotiating. According to the Journal, the government has put a new offer on the table. The Treasury now proposes that the banks and other lenders accept as payment 22% of the $6.9 billion they are owed plus a 5% equity stake in Chrysler, said several people familiar with the matter.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
GM's Shrinking Global Footprint Mark J. Perry submits: Great interactive map here from the Detroit News (HT to Dallas Walton) showing GM's (GMGMQ.PK) plants and manufacturing employees, production and sales, as well as suppliers and retirees, in the United States and around the world. Some interesting data from the map: 1. In Michigan there are 193,301 GM retirees and 46,467 active manufacturing workers, which is a ratio of more than 4 retirees per active worker. For Ohio, the ratio is more than 6 retirees per active worker, and in Indiana there are 8.6 retirees per active worker! Assuming that all of the retirees are receiving full pension benefits and lifetime health care coverage, it's pretty clear that GM's legacy costs are HUGE, and explain why the hourly cost per active worker in 2008 were $69 in full labor costs (including legacy costs).Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Nissan Exec: Hybrids on the Menu as Well as EVs Greentech Media submits: By Jeff St. John A Nissan (NSANY) executive has said the automaker will consider building cheaper hybrid cars as an interim measure, while its full electric vehicle rollout takes shape.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Cass Freight Indices Bouncing Calafia Beach Pundit submits: A reader mentioned the Cass Freight Indices the other day, and so I thought I would have a look at them. Here's a chart of all the available data. My first impression is that while these indices are in synch with the bounce we have seen in so many other areas of the economy this year, they are of limited value.I am perplexed as to why the Shipments index has drifted lower over the past 20 years, considering that economic activity (real GDP) has expanded by 90% since 1990. It is interesting that the Expenditures index is now up by exactly the same as the rise in the PCE deflator since 1990 (55%), but why it should have risen so dramatically in 2006, about two years before the big spike in oil prices, is puzzling. Comments welcome.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Rail Stats: Uptrend, But Still Sluggish The latest rail data continues to show weak traffic trends despite very easy year over year comparisons. As we’ve long expected, the uptrend in rail data shows certain signs of improvement, but it’s important to keep things in perspective here. At this time last year the economy was in meltdown mode. Despite this, carloads are still 8.9% lower than they were last year and down 17% from 2007. In addition, intermodal traffic is off 7.7% from last year and 15% from 2007. This data continues to display extraordinary weakness in the real economy. The AAR has the full report: WASHINGTON, D.C., Nov. 19, 2009 — The Association of American Railroads today reported that freight rail traffic was down for the holiday week ended Nov. 14, 2009. U.S. railroads reported originating 281,218 carloads for the week, down 8.9 percent compared with the same week in 2008 and down 17 percent from the same week in 2007. Rail carloads showed slight improvement, up 2.3 percent from the previous week. In order to offer a complete picture of the progress in rail traffic, AAR will now be reporting 2009 weekly rail traffic with year over comparisons for both 2008 and 2007. Note that each of the 2007 and 2008 comparison weeks to Nov. 14, 2009 included the Veterans Day Holiday.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |