Autoparts Report

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Pep Boys Reports Lower Fourth Quarter Results But Higher Fiscal Year Returns.(Pep Boys-Manny, Moe and Jack)(Brief Article)
The Pep Boys - Manny, Moe & Jack said sales for the thirteen weeks ended February 1, 2003, were $482.8 million, 5 percent less than the $508,.5 million recorded last year. Comparable store sales, w . . .

Standard Motor Said Earning, Sales Improved For Full Year.(Standard Motor Products Inc.)(Brief Article)
Standard Motor Products, Inc., an automotive replacement parts manufacturer and distributor, said net sales for the fourth quarter of 2002 were $107.9 million, approximately 12 percent higher than . . .

Japan's Automakers Capture Greater Market Share In Europe.
Japan's automakers, strengthened by a solid range of fresh models, are boosting their sales in Europe and garnering greater market share at the expense of Volkswagen, Renault, Ford and General Moto . . .

Linamar To Build A New Manufacturing Facility In Ontario.(Linamar Corp.)(Brief Article)
Linamar Corp. said it plans to build a new manufacturing facility in Guelph, Ontario to manufacturer cylinder heads for an existing customer. Plans for this new facility include more than 200,000 s . . .

Mexico's Auto Parts Exports To Get Boost From Weak Peso.(Brief Article)
The Mexican auto parts industry is expecting exports to grow in 2003 if the peso currency remains weak. Mexico's auto parts exports grew almost 9 percent last year, as the peso depreciated 12 perce . . .

Metaldyne Looks To Manufacture in China.(MascoTech Inc. opens office in Shanghai, China)(Brief Article)
Metaldyne said that it has opened an office in Shanghai, China, as a prelude to establishing a manufacturing presence in the country. The office will support the development of the company's sales, . . .

Cooper Tire Acquires Max Trac Tires.(Cooper Tire and Rubber Co., Max Trac Tire Company Inc.)(Brief Article)
Cooper Tire & Rubber Co. said it has purchased Max Trac Tire Co., Inc., better known as Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels. The company, with leased locations in Stow, Ohio and Temecula, Ca . . .

Japanese Parts Supplier Selects North Carolina For New Plant.(NT Techno)(Brief Article)
NT Techno (Takahama, Japan), a Tier III automotive supplier, has chosen Oxford, Granville County, North Carolina, for the location of its first U.S. manufacturing plant. Investment in the new facili . . .

TI Automotive Awarded GM Fuel-Line Contract.(General Motors Corp. awards contract for fuel-line systems)(Brief Article)
TI Automotive, a supplier of fluid storage and delivery systems, said it has been awarded a contract to provide fuel lines for several future full-sized General Motors vehicles. Production for up t . . .

Federal-Mogul Signs Agreement to Sell OE Molded Lighting Assembly Operations to Decoma International.(Brief Article)
Federal-Mogul Corp. said it agreed to sell its OE molded lighting assembly operations to Decoma International Inc. The agreement is subject to approval by the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, . . .

Visteon Corp. Will Drop Out Of Seating Business.(Brief Article)
Visteon Corp. said it will exit its seating business located in Chesterfield, Mich. The Chesterfield plant currently provides seating systems to Ford. Ford will source current model seating busines . . .

Goodyear, TRW Automotive to Collaborate on Tires, Suspensions.(Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co., TRW Automotive Aftermarket Div.)(Br
The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. and TRW Automotive have signed a five-year agreement to jointly study tires, braking, suspension and steering systems to accelerate product development for vehicle ma . . .

OE Battery Shipments Fell, Aftermarket Shipment Climbs In 2002.(shipments data for original equipment, replacement automotive ba
Shipments of replacement automotive batteries in the first 10 months of 2002 rose 3.01 percent, compared with the Jan.-Oct. 2001 period, while original equipment auto battery shipments fell 0.17 pe . . .

Kyosan Denki America and DENSO to Establish Mt. Sterling, Ky. Manufacturing Facility.(Kyosan Denki America Inc., DENSO Internati
Kyosan Denki America, Inc., of Winchester, Ky., and Denso International America, Inc., of Southfield, Mich., said that they will establish a North American manufacturing company in Mt. Sterling, Ky . . .

Tenneco Automotive Expands Operations in China.(Brief Article)
Tenneco Automotive said that its exhaust manufacturing joint venture in Dalian, China has expanded its operations with a new JIT (just-in-time) manufacturing plant in Changchun, China. The new faci . . .

Independent Warranty Providers Receive Higher Satisfaction Ratings From Dealers Than OEM Providers.
In the highly profitable area of extended warranty programs, automotive dealerships are significantly more satisfied with independent service contract providers than OEM providers, according to the . . .

Ford, GM To Sharply Cut 2nd Quarter Output, Small Auto Supplier Expected To Be Hurt Hardest.(Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp
General Motors and Ford Motor announced plans to curtail vehicle production in the second quarter, after sales of cars and light trucks slowed in February. That could push many of the smaller auto . . .

Big Three New Vehicle Quality Improves According To Recent Survey.
The Big Three automakers are on a par with European automakers in terms of quality, but still lag their Asian counterparts, according to a recent Consumer Reports survey. Consumer Reports' annual . . .

Taxpayers Group Says New FreedomCAR Initiative Is A Waste Of Taxpayers' Money.(National Taxpayers Union )
The National Taxpayers Union (NTU) said that the Bush administration FreedomCAR initiative is a waste of taxpayers money. According to a recent study by the 335,000-member NTU, FreedomCAR's fiscal . . .

O'Reilly Automotive Reports Fourth Quarter and Annual Earnings.(Brief Article)
O'Reilly Automotive, Inc. reported record revenues and earnings for the fourth quarter and year ended December 31, 2002, representing 10 consecutive years of record revenues and earnings for O'Reil . . .

Delphi Sees Slight Rise In Capital Expenditure In 2003; Plans Large Pension Payout.(Brief Article)
Delphi Corp. said it expects capital expenditures of $1.1 billion for 2003, compared with $1.035 billion in 2002, according to the company's annual report filed with the Securities and Exchange Com . . .

Collins & Aikman's Reports Record 4th Quarter Sales.(Brief Article)
Collins & Aikman reported a fourth-quarter net loss of $3.1 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with a net loss of $35.6 million, or 72 cents, a year ago. Excluding restructuring and asset impair . . .

Genuine Parts Sees 4th Quarter Sales Increase.(Brief Article)
Genuine Parts Co.'s fourth-quarter sales rose 2.4 percent to $1.99 billion on a 1 percent rise at its automotive group and 5 percent growth at its industrial and office product segments. Genuine Pa . . .

Vietnam Auto Parts Tariff To Rise Sharply.(Vietnamese Ministry of Finance suggests auto part tariff hikes)(Brief Article)
Vietnam's Ministry of Finance has proposed a graduated increase in auto part tariffs to a ceiling of 50 percent by 2005 The government agency has recommended that the import tax on auto component . . .

Toyota, Suppliers To Invest In Indonesian Auto Venture.(Toyota Motor Corp. )(Brief Article)
Toyota Motor Corp. will pour $180 million into its auto joint venture with Indonesia's PT Astra International during 2003-2005, Astra Chief Executive Budhi Setiadharma said. The official said the c . . .

Dongfeng Honda To Boost Chinese Parts Output by 70 Percent.(Dongfeng Honda Auto Parts Co.)(Brief Article)
Dongfeng Honda Auto Parts Co. said it will increase production in fiscal 2003 by 70 percent over the previous year in order to supply Guangzhou Honda Automobile Co., which plans to start manufactur . . .

Parts Maker Hyundai Mobis To Open Transmissions Plant In China.(Brief Article)
Hyundai Mobis, a unit of Hyundai Motor Group, said it will open its fourth Chinese plant in Beijing in the first half of 2004, to make 100,000 manual transmission units a year. Hyundai Mobis said . . .

Russian Firm, SHAAZ, To Supply Global Industry With New Plant.
SHAAZ, a division of the Russia's Ural Mining and Metallurgical Co. (UMMC), said that it has become the world's largest producer of advanced CuproBraze heat exchangers, a cutting-edge technology d . . .

PSA Peugeot To Boost Production In Argentina.(Brief Article)
PSA Peugeot Citroen said it would invest 50 million euros ($53.72 million) to start making its top-selling Peugeot 307 car in Argentina in 2004. The firm said it would make 16,000 cars at its facto . . .

Chrysler's Minority Spending Hit $3 Billion In 2002.(spending on goods and services from minority suppliers)(Brief Article)
Chrysler Group said that it purchased more than $3 billion from minority suppliers for goods and services in 2002. The total amount represented about 11 percent of its total purchasing spend, maint . . .

Meridian Withdraws IPO Plan.(Meridian Automotive Systems Inc. cancels planned initial public offering)(Brief Article)
Parts supplier Meridian Automotive Systems Inc. decided against going forward with its initial public offering, because "current market conditions" didn't support an offering at this time. The Dear . . .

DURA Awarded General Motors Glass Business.(Dura Automotive Systems Inc. )(Brief Article)
Dura Automotive Systems, Inc. said it has been awarded a contract from General Motors to provide rear-sliding windows for GM's current North American line of full-size pickup trucks, including the . . .

Dana's Says Asbestos-Related Claims Reach 139,000.
Dana Corp. said it had about 139,000 asbestos-related product liability claims outstanding Dec. 31. Of those, about 24,000 were settled pending payment, according to the company's annual report. . . .

AutoZone Inc., Advance Auto Reach Settlement With New York Over Illegal Charges.(Brief Article)
New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer announced a settlement with two national retail auto parts chains for overcharging consumers who do not turn in old automobile batteries. The agreeme . . .

Cummins, Dongfeng Automobile Expand Relationship.(Brief Article)
Cummins Inc. and Dongfeng Automobile Co. Limited (DFAC), a subsidiary of Dongfeng Motor Co. (DFM), said that DFAC's licensee plant, which produces Cummins B series engines, and Cummins cylinder blo . . .

Valeo's Awarded Windshield Wiper Contract From GM.(General Motors Corp. awards contract)(Brief Article)
Valeo said its U.S. arm had won a contract to supply windshield wipers to General Motors Corp. Valeo declined to put a value on the contract, the unit's first big deal with the world's top carmaker . . .

TRW Acquires Remainder Of Its Italian Automotive Pump Venture.(TRW Marzocchi Automotive Pumps)(Brief Article)
TRW said it has acquired 100 percent of TRW Marzocchi Automotive Pumps. Financial terms were not disclosed. The transaction concluded the joint venture begun in 1997 between TRW and Marzocchi Pompe . . .

Exide To Supply Batteries To Goodyear Service Centers.(Exide Technologies)(Brief Article)
Exide Technologies, through an alliance with its customer, Parts Plus, will begin supplying batteries to Goodyear Service Centers. The company signed a three-year agreement to be the primary batt . . .

Lund International Expands Georgia Facility.(Lund International Holdings Inc. )(Brief Article)
Lund International Holdings, Inc., a manufacturer and marketer of a broad line of accessories for the automotive aftermarket, said it has expanded its Lund Accessories Division by 50 percent to 151 . . .

Delphi Corp. Awarded New Safety Restraint Business.(Brief Article)
Delphi Corp. received a $160-million contract to provide safety restraints systems to a "major" North American automaker, starting with the client's luxury models in 2005. Delphi didn't name the cu . . .

Atchison Casting Awarded New Parts Business From DaimlerChrysler.(Atchison Casting Corp.'s Inverness Castings Group gets several
Atchison Casting Corp.'s Inverness Castings Group said it has received several new parts contracts from DaimlerChrysler AG which will add about $5 million in annual sales. Atchison said it will s . . .

Magnacharge To Become Delphi Battery Distributor In Canada.(Magnacharge Battery Co.)(Brief Article)
Delphi and Canadian battery manufacturer/distributor Magnacharge Battery Co., a subsidiary of Battery & Wireless Solutions Inc. have entered into an alliance to distribute Delphi's battery products . . .

Delphi Energy & Chassis Systems Hikes Common Rail Business In Asia.(Delphi Corp. Energy & Chassis Systems division contracted fo
Delphi Corp. Energy & Chassis Systems division said that, in January, the company contracted for more than $305 million in business in the Asia Pacific region to supply diesel common rail systems a . . .

GM To Consolidate North American Design & Engineering In Warren, Mich.(General Motors to move 5,500 engineers and technical staf
General Motors said it is moving 5,500 engineers and technical staff from its center in Pontiac, Mich., to a technical center in Warren, Mich., according to a report in the Detroit Free. The compan . . .

GM Agrees To Raise Outsourcing In Quebec.(to increase its purchases in Quebec to C$1.2 billion in deal with Quebec government)(B
In an agreement with the Quebec government, GM said it would increase its purchases in the province to C$1.2 billion ($811 million) from C$800 million ($538 million). GM's decision follows months o . . .

Intermet Says New Business Won Totaled $450 Million In 2002.(Intermet Corp.)(Brief Article)
Intermet Corp., one of the world's leading manufacturers of cast-metal automotive components, said that new business awarded in 2002 totaled $450 million over the life of the programs. This is in a . . .

PSA, Ford Venture To Sharply Increase Output Of Clean Diesel Engines.(PSA Peugeot Citroen and Ford jointly develop cleanest dies
PSA Peugeot Citroen and Ford said they have developed the cleanest diesel engines ever made, as part of a joint plan targeted at booming European demand for diesel cars. The French and U.S. firms . . .

China's Car Production In January Soars 120 Percent.(Brief Article)
China auto production soared 120 percent in January to 126,800 cars, a jump of 120 percent from a year earlier, the government said. Car output at Shanghai Automotive Industry Corp (SAIC), which . . .

Intier Automotive And Delphi Form Alliance To Develop Interior Systems.(Intier Automotive Inc. and Delphi Corp. to develop compl
Intier Automotive Inc. said that it has entered into a strategic alliance with Delphi Corp. to develop complete interior vehicle systems, including advanced electrical architectures and wiring harn . . .

GM Said Government Underestimates Cost Of Meeting Higher Truck Fuel Economy.(General Motors says regulators vastly underestimate
In a lengthy submission to the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), General Motors said that regulators have vastly underestimated the cost of raising the fuel economy stand . . .