Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - (Page 15) NOVEMBER 24, 2008 • 15 Honda plant adds parts center Ralph Kisiel rkisiel@crain.com U.S. medium- & heavy-truck sales, Oct. & 10 mos. Oct. 2008 Oct. 2007 Oct. percent change 10 mos. 2008 10 mos. 2007 10 mos. percent change GREENSBURG, Ind. — Honda Motor Co. has added its first North American on-site parts consolidation center to its new assembly plant here. The goal: Reduce the cost of parts shipping and handling. The center will become particularly important when the automaker ends Honda Civic production in early 2009 at its East Liberty Auto Plant in Ohio. Many of Honda’s suppliers in Ohio then will have to ship their parts farther — to this new $550 million assembly plant in southeastern Indiana, roughly midway between Indianapolis and Cincinnati. “That’s one of the reasons we attached the consolidation center,” said Rick Schostek, vice president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana LLC, after a dedication ceremony last week. “Logistics is a big theme for this plant.” The Indiana factory, Honda’s sixth assembly plant in North America, uses the same 148 suppliers in Ohio and Indiana that have been supplying parts to the East Liberty Auto Plant, Schostek said. “For some of them, the distance to get here is longer. For others, the distance is shorter — more longer than shorter,” he said. “So there is a logistics demerit to that.” Honda typically locates its consolidation centers near its assembly plants in the United States and Canada. For example, Honda has a parts consolidation center five miles from the East Liberty Auto Plant. The Indiana center is the first to be “literally attached to the end of the line,” Schostek said. The centers manage inbound parts inventory, assist just-in-time delivery to the assembly plants, and stage and repack parts for proper sequencing on Honda assembly lines. The attached center will allow for rapid and efficient parts delivery and eliminate some fuel costs, Schostek said. “It’s eliminating two sets of docks,” he said. “It will cut out some jockeying around, really cut down the level of inventory in our system. “It’s our cost. We’re not dumping it on the suppliers.” In addition, Yuzo Uenohara, president of Honda Manufacturing of Indiana, said the Greensburg factory is Honda’s fifth U.S. manufacturing plant designed as a zero waste-tolandfill plant. On Oct. 9, production began in Indiana, ramping up at a slow, steady pace. Production began with 30 cars a day, then went to 60, 120, 150 and now 180 per day. “We’ll get to 400 in February or March next year,” Schostek said. Then Honda will begin a similar ramp-up for a second shift, he said. “Toward the end of 2009,” Schostek said, the plant will be at full capacity with two shifts. c Picture this You and your industry colleagues have just hung out at a party, raised a truckload of cash for charity or fired your best rounds of golf. Share your snapshots with us. When the celebration is over, e-mail your high-resolution photos, IDs and a brief description of the event to autonews@crain.com. ■ Drawn to Ferrari Former General Motors design chief Chuck Jordan, above at right; automotive design enthusiast Ron VanGelderen, above at left; former designer Bill Molzon, right; and about 30 other members of the League of Retired Automotive Designers pictured themselves as Ferrari designers, developing their visions of Ferrari vehicles into concept drawings for an exhibit at the San Diego Automotive Museum. Jordan was GM’s vice president of design from 1986 to 1992. Molzon started with GM in 1963, moved to Chrysler, then went to Calty Design Research until 1978. Class 4 315 Class 5 324 Class 6 54 Class 7 111 Chevrolet* 804 Dodge Class 5* 488 Class 4 3,431 Class 5 1,326 Class 6 422 Class 7 345 Ford 5,524 Class 3 & 4 50 Class 5 26 Class 6 370 Class 7 1,124 Class 8 2,966 Freightliner 4,536 Class 4 174 Class 5 333 Class 6 51 Class 7 438 GMC* 996 Class 4 7 Class 5 11 Class 6 257 Class 7 73 Hino* 348 Class 4 139 Class 5 83 Class 6 1,264 Class 7 1,533 Class 8 3,671 International 6,690 Class 3 & 4 375 Class 5 135 Class 6 26 Class 7 33 Isuzu 569 Class 5 5 Class 6 62 Class 7 214 Class 8 1,198 Kenworth* 1,479 Mack Class 8* 929 Class 3 & 4 74 Class 5 42 Class 6 59 Class 7 5 Mitsubishi Fuso 180 Class 3 & 4 14 Class 5 18 Class 6 50 Class 7 23 Nissan Diesel 105 Class 5 8 Class 6 9 Class 7 285 Class 8 1,533 Peterbilt* 1,835 Class 4 71 Class 5 126 Class 6 78 Class 7 171 Class 8 614 Sterling* 1,060 Volvo Class 8 1,089 Western Star Class 8* .. 73 Other Class 8 – Class 4† 4,650 Class 5 2,925 Class 6 2,702 Class 7 4,355 Class 8 12,073 Total Class 4-8 26,705 Total Class 1-3 394,907 TOTAL TRUCK SALES .. 421,612 411 536 61 118 1,126 – 4,261 1,827 1,246 328 7,662 86 109 879 2,092 2,396 5,562 288 366 106 530 1,290 24 12 327 80 443 35 111 1,947 2,287 2,866 7,246 783 196 34 5 1,018 – – 278 1,500 1,778 1,167 177 51 57 13 298 54 53 76 6 189 – – 367 1,532 1,899 23 17 84 203 818 1,145 1,305 145 40 6,142 3,278 4,817 6,307 11,769 32,313 648,495 680,808 –23.4 –39.6 –11.5 –5.9 –28.6 – –19.5 –27.4 –66.1 5.2 –27.9 –41.9 –76.1 –57.9 –46.3 23.8 –18.4 –39.6 –9.0 –51.9 –17.4 –22.8 –70.8 –8.3 –21.4 –8.8 –21.4 297.1 –25.2 –35.1 –33.0 28.1 –7.7 –52.1 –31.1 –23.5 – –44.1 – – –23.0 –20.1 –16.8 –20.4 –58.2 –17.6 3.5 –61.5 –39.6 –74.1 –66.0 –34.2 283.3 –44.4 – – –22.3 0.1 –3.4 208.7 641.2 –7.1 –15.8 –24.9 –7.4 –16.6 –49.7 – –24.3 –10.8 –43.9 –30.9 2.6 –17.4 –39.1 –38.1 3,377 3,576 539 1,113 8,605 4,490 34,332 15,060 6,092 3,009 58,493 2,994 339 7,235 13,314 27,932 51,814 2,137 6,688 873 3,215 12,913 154 129 3,022 905 4,210 2,363 802 13,783 13,967 26,478 57,363 5,334 1,783 282 80 7,479 133 704 2,332 13,263 16,432 9,711 902 384 538 73 1,897 221 232 472 145 1,070 114 164 2,992 14,438 17,708 644 949 536 1,513 6,471 10,113 10,710 1,018 107 52,458 34,679 34,240 42,658 110,128 274,163 5,375,886 5,650,049 4,517 5,050 806 1,392 11,765 – 45,462 18,951 12,331 4,615 81,359 1,971 628 10,753 20,713 32,887 66,952 3,176 7,501 1,079 4,960 16,716 243 150 3,230 950 4,573 742 1,347 16,026 17,165 24,713 59,993 8,156 2,450 213 471 11,290 – – 3,457 16,482 19,939 11,248 2,642 830 1,020 113 4,605 405 587 789 80 1,861 – – 4,174 17,178 21,352 214 122 826 2,292 10,636 14,090 12,636 2,071 771 67,528 37,616 47,073 60,382 128,622 341,221 6,947,163 7,288,384 –25.2 –29.2 –33.1 –20.0 –26.9 – –24.5 –20.5 –50.6 –34.8 –28.1 51.9 –46.0 –32.7 –35.7 –15.1 –22.6 –32.7 –10.8 –19.1 –35.2 –22.8 –36.6 –14.0 –6.4 –4.7 –7.9 218.5 –40.5 –14.0 –18.6 7.1 –4.3 –34.6 –27.2 32.4 –83.0 –33.8 – – –32.5 –19.5 –17.6 –13.7 –65.9 –53.7 –47.3 –35.4 –58.8 –45.4 –60.5 –40.2 81.3 –42.5 – – –28.3 –16.0 –17.1 200.9 677.9 –35.1 –34.0 –39.2 –28.2 –15.2 –50.8 –86.1 –22.3 –7.8 –27.3 –29.4 –14.4 –19.7 –22.6 –22.5 *Reported by Ward’s Communications Source: Automotive News Data Center and company sources †Includes Class 3 trucks for Freightliner, Isuzu, Mitsubishi Fuso and Nissan Diesel Oct. truck sales fall 17.4% Sales of medium- and heavy-duty trucks fell 17.4 percent last month from October 2007, to 26,705. Sales of Class 4-8 trucks have fallen every month since February 2007. The latest drop brings sales of Class 4-8 trucks in the first 10 months of 2008 to 274,163, down 19.7 percent from a year earlier. In October, sales of Class 8 big trucks rose 2.6 percent to 12,073. But sales in all other categories dropped by double-digit percentages. Class 4 sales fell 24.3 percent to 4,650, Class 5 slipped 10.8 percent to 2,925, Class 6 tumbled 43.9 percent to 2,702, and Class 7 fell 30.9 percent to 4,355. Among truckmakers, International slipped 7.7 percent to 6,690 units to take first place in sales last month. Sales at Ford, which had been No. 1 a year earlier, dropped 27.9 percent to 5,524. No. 3 Freightliner sold 4,536, down 18.4 percent. Peterbilt was a distant fourth with sales of 1,835, down 3.4 percent. Through October, Ford remained No. 1 with sales of 58,493, down 28.1 percent. That gave Ford a 1,130-truck lead over International, whose sales slipped 4.3 percent to 57,363. Freightliner was No. 3 through October, with sales falling 22.6 percent to 51,814. For the first 10 months, sales fell in classes 4 through 8. Class 5’s 7.8 percent drop, to 34,679, was the only single-digit percentage decline. The largest drop came in Class 7 sales: a 29.4 percent slide to 42,658. — James B. Treece ■ They’re sold on Camaro John Fitzpatrick, left, General Motors’ Camaro marketing manager, and Scott Settlemire, GM’s manager of shows and exhibits, take bids at a charity auction during Indy Bash 2008. Camaro and Firebird fans from across North America shouted their bids, showed off their rides and oohed and aahed over the new 2010 Camaro and Camaro SS during the three-day event at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, hosted by GM and the Central Indiana Camaro Club. The auction raised more than $22,000 for Riley Children’s Hospital in Indianapolis.
Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Automotive News - November 24, 2008 Iacocca tip: 'Equality of sacrifice' Ch. 11 would hit dealers hard â fast Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom Down the road and a continent away Used-vehicle demand shrivels O'Neill will lead Power GM tweaks production plan Mitsubishi: No to Detroit Ford will cut more output Nardelli: Chrysler is running on fumes GMAC on brink of bankruptcy, S&P warns Off with their heads! (But whose?) In defense (kind of) of Detroit Bailout Motors? Britain went down that road CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling Ford: We still want Mazda expertise Imports clog ports as sales plunge Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume Nissan expects Chrysler pickup deal will survive Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover It's time to put partisanship aside; Detroit needs help What GM needs is GMAC.2 'Buy American' talk won't help industry Readers weigh in on auto industy woes No one bailed out Oldsmobile It's time to move to mass transport We still need manufacturing Bankruptcy is a bet Let's get wages under control Will America be better off? First step: Bring the jobs home America owes it to GM to help The answer is simple: Leasing What about dealerships? Detroit 3 CEOs must offer to quit Oct. truck sales fall 17.4% Honda plant adds parts center They're sold on Camaro Drawn to Ferrari Japan poised to control key batteries Europe's worst month hits all automakers Dealers BMW: Diesel 7 series could come to U.S. Honda's FC Sport mixes green and go Infiniti G37's hard top retracts in 30 seconds Redesign of Lexus RX series hard to see Mini electric: Jolt comes from sticker Ford hybrid sedans aim at Camry After only 3 years, Ford revamps Fusion Hyundai plans new crossover, turbo engine Restyled Mustang: More refinement, horsepower Honda: Don't count on CR-Z gasoline variant '09 Nissan Z delivers more of what fans like Mazda3 gets new look, powertrains Nissan Cube joins the box brigade Infiniti upgrades powertrains Lincoln MKZ gets a makeover Porsche won't stall Panamera 2010 GLK priced below rival Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp Detroit 3 squeezed by credit, cash â politics Waxman could mean trouble for Detroit GM formulates a 'Plan B' if it doesn't get federal loan Infiniti replaces Igo Sharks vs. Jets, D.C.-style What's good for â uh, how'd that go again? Mazda deal imperils Ford training ground More like Toyota, Honda? Careful what you wish for Maybe he's Buck-a-year Bob now Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout Automotive News - November 24, 2008 Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - (Page Intro) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom (Page 1) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3: Bankruptcy = doom (Page 2) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Ford will cut more output (Page 3) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Off with their heads! (But whose?) (Page 4) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Off with their heads! (But whose?) (Page 5) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling (Page 6) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - CEOs could have pre-empted the grilling (Page 7) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume (Page 8) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Volvo's N.A. boss will resume leases to boost volume (Page 9) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover (Page 10) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Toyota: Venza is a trendsetter, not a crossover (Page 11) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - 'Buy American' talk won't help industry (Page 12) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - 'Buy American' talk won't help industry (Page 13) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Detroit 3 CEOs must offer to quit (Page 14) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Drawn to Ferrari (Page 15) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Japan poised to control key batteries (Page 16) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 17) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 18) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 19) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 20) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 21) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Dealers (Page 22) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Mini electric: Jolt comes from sticker (Page 23) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Restyled Mustang: More refinement, horsepower (Page 24) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp (Page 25) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Bentley's Azure T gets 500 hp (Page 26) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - GM formulates a 'Plan B' if it doesn't get federal loan (Page 27) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Infiniti replaces Igo (Page 28) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Infiniti replaces Igo (Page 29) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 30) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 31) Automotive News - November 24, 2008 - Romney: Bankruptcy, not bailout (Page 32)
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