The Globe and Mail reports in its Monday edition that Automotive Parts Manufacturers
Association head Flavio Volpe says retaining Canada's existing auto
assembly plants is crucial to keeping
the domestic auto parts
industry healthy. The Globe's Greg Keenan writes that parts makers face the challenge
of adapting to the southward
shift of the industry in
North America as billions
of dollars in investment get
pumped into Mexico and the
United States, and production
grows in those regions.
Neither shipments nor jobs have
returned to the peaks hit in the
early 2000s.
Mr. Volpe says parts makers need to build on
their strengths to grow. He says
Ontario is unique in
that it is the only jurisdiction in
Canada and the U.S. that
is home to assembly plants operated
by five different automakers.
Mr. Volpe says, "This industry has a 100-year
plus footprint here and with that
100 years of history comes a refinement
of a skill set, quantitative
and qualitative, that
underpins our competitiveness."
Meantime, Canadian parts
makers are following their customers
southward. Magna International broke ground
last week on a new plant in Tennessee
to make seats for a GM assembly plant in that
state.
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