The Globe and Mail reports in its Tuesday, July 4, edition that General Motors, Ford Motor and Fiat Chrysler are
all shortening summer shutdowns
or forgoing them altogether
at some U.S. plants that
make popular SUVs and pickups
as demand for the bigger vehicles
continues to chug along.
A Bloomberg dispatch to The Globe reports that at the same time, several car
plants are bracing for a cut in
summertime shifts and output
as manufacturers try to align
supply with still-slumping passenger-car demand.
Kelley
Blue Book analyst Alec Gutierrez says: "It's been encouraging to see
the level of discipline we've seen
so far. We have seen a targeted
cutback in production. There is
recognition that the market is
cooling off a bit."
The full-year total of 17.2 million
analysts have been projecting
would end a seven-year
winning streak for the auto sector
but would still mark the
fourth-best year on record. The
industry sold 17.55 million cars
and light trucks last year.
Ford's U.S.
sales chief Mark LaNeve says, "It doesn't look like there's any
indication that we would gain
enough momentum as an industry
in the second half to eclipse
last year."
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