Ford and UAW Strike Deal on Retirees
from The International Herald Tribune
 The United Automobile Workers union says it has reached a tentative deal with Ford Motor on how the company will fund a trust that will pay retiree health care expenses. The union says that a 2007 agreement with the automaker about funding for the union-run trust had been modified, but no details were released. More
Bankruptcy Funding Solicited for Car Makers
from The Wall Street Journal
Outside advisers to the U.S. Treasury have started lining up the largest bankruptcy loan ever, talking with banks and other lenders about at least $40 billion in financing for General Motors Corp. and Chrysler LLC, in case the two auto makers need it, said several people familiar with the matter. While acknowledging the grimness of the task, administration officials involved in the auto talks said they are trying to find a way to restructure the two companies without resorting to bankruptcy proceedings. They stressed the latest efforts were "due diligence" on the part of the government advisers, and that bankruptcy financing may not be necessary. More
Lufkin Industries Announces Record Year
from The Lufkin Daily News
Two weeks after laying off 53 oilfield employees, Lufkin Industries announced a year of record business. 2008 was a record year ending with a record quarter, the largest volume of new business in the 108-year-old company's history, said Chief Executive John Glick. Lufkin Industries Inc. is a publicly traded company manufacturing oil field equipment, foundry castings and power transmission products worldwide. More
MAPI Says Stimulus Package, Pent Up Demand Could Offer Potential Growth
from Industry Week
The U.S. economy continues to decline, and any recovery promises to be long and arduous. Yet, assuming businesses and consumers find a way through the painful beginning of 2009, there is potential for improvement in late 2009 and into 2010, according to the The Manufacturers Alliance/MAPI Quarterly Economic Forecast. More
Beijing Auto Quiet on Possible Chrysler Assets Buy
from The Detroit Free Press
Staff at Chinese car maker Beijing Automotive Industry Holding Corp. refused to comment today on a report that the company might bid for assets of Chrysler LLC. The state-run newspaper China Business News, citing an unnamed Beijing Auto executive, said the Chinese automaker wanted to acquire Chrysler assets using a similar approach to that taken by Nanjing Automobile (Group) Corp.'s when it bought defunct automaker MG Rover Group. More
Boeing in Pact with India’s BEL for New Facility
from Reuters via Army-Technology.com
Indian state-run firm Bharat Electronic has signed an agreement with aircraft manufacturer Boeing to jointly set up a facility to help modernize India's defense forces, the company said in a statement on Saturday. The proposed analysis and experimentation center will be staffed with local personnel who will work with India's Defense Ministry, the statement said. More
Saab Files for Reorganization, Seeks $1 Billion to Survive
from AutoWeek
Saab is seeking $1 billion to be self-financing, the company said on Friday after it filed for reorganization under a self-managed Swedish court process. The General Motors-owned Swedish brand said it will work "to create an independent business entity" and will concentrate production, design and engineering in Sweden. The company said GM had notified the company that it would not fund further projected losses at Saab, but that it would provide liquidity for the company to pursue a reorganization. GM Europe's head of communications, Chris Preuss, said GM was prepared to provide some funding for Saab but the brand needed outside money as well. More
Bailout Plans Backed, Scorned by Senators from Auto States
from Automotive News
General Motors would be doomed if it were unable to get the federal aid it needs to avoid bankruptcy, said one U.S. senator from an automaking state, while another said GM and Chrysler LLC have failed to make the tough restructuring decisions that would qualify them for help. "Bankruptcy is a non-starter,'' said Carl Levin, a Michigan Democrat. The Senate Republican leader, Kentucky's Mitch McConnell, said today: "The companies are not doing what needs to be done to save the companies.'' More
Gas Prices Edging Up Again?
from Bloomberg
The average price of regular gasoline at U.S. filling stations rose to $1.94 a gallon as demand for motor fuel increased. Gasoline gained 2.55 cents, or 1.3 percent, in the two weeks ended Feb. 20, according to oil analyst Trilby Lundberg’s survey of 7,000 filling stations nationwide. “We’re at an interesting intersection of the price trend and demand trend,” Lundberg said in an interview. “Low prices relative to a year ago are allowing demand to cease shrinking. Demand is making a comeback.” More
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