Auto Industry Showing Signs Of Life In Indiana

By Mark Fredericks

Most of the news concerning the U.S. Auto industry in 2009 was not good. GM’s sales were down 52% in February 2009 compared to February 2008, Chrysler and GM filed for bankruptcy protection 4 days after an offer to bond holders for an exchange for bond debt to stock was rejected. 7500 workers had accepted early retirement or buy out offers. 

The image of the big 3 CEOs sitting glumly in front of Congress as they were chastised for asking for what would be a $5.5 billion dollar bailout after traveling from Detroit to DC in private jets was the kind of stuff the best PR firms in the world couldn’t down play. Things went from bad to worse to worser.

What a difference a year makes. 

The world is slowly climbing out of the worse economic downturn in the past 70 years. Clearly there is a long way to go, but there are definite signs that the auto industry is turning the corner, and there’s a lot of proof of that right here in Indiana. Mo Davison, Director of UAW Region 3 agrees that the last year was tough, but things are looking promising. 

Kokomo

At one time Chrysler had a huge presence in Indiana. The foundry and the electric plant in Indianapolis have been gone for years, and at one time there were also plants in New Castle and Evansville. All that’s left now is the operation in Kokomo. Fiat is still weighing its options of keeping the transmission plants in Kokomo, but recently the city council in Kokomo voted unanimously to allow a 10 year tax abatement worth from $270 to $300 million. This is a significant bargaining maneuver and very possibly will make the difference to keep those jobs in Howard County.

Mishawka

After the military announced the end of the HUMV program, the future of the Mishawka plant was tenuous at best. A deal to sell the plant to a Chinese company unraveled and search continued for a serious buyer.

Now as AM General winds down production of the H2, the plant will be converted to being making a new state-of-the-art taxi. The vehicle has an SUV type of profile and will be able to easily transport people who are confined to wheelchairs. The possibilities for the market of this vehicle are enormous. 

Meanwhile, the plant is involved in a project to upgrade the current HUMVs while the military prepares for the next generation of armored troop transport vehicles. 

One of the problems with the HUMV was its vulnerability to roadside bombs. The MRAP was adopted as a replacement. MRAP stands for “Mine Resistant Armor Protected”.

The MRAP, although an improvement over the HUMV, still is not the best answer for armored transport of troops and will possibly be replaced by a vehicle called the JLT (Joint Light Tactical) in 2014 or 2015. Congressman Elsworth, Congressman Donnely and Senator Bayh are working hard to bring that contract to the Mishawka plant.

Hammond

The Leer Seating Plant in Hammond is now going to be building seats for the new Ford Taurus’s and Lincolns that are assembled in Chicago. The plant is about twice the size of most other seating plants, but the UAW local 2335 workers there make several products rather than one single item which is the norm. 

Bedford

UAW 440 in Bedford will expand from its transmission case operation to also manufacturing cylinder heads. The machinery will be installed later this year. Also, a new 6 speed transmission will start being produced there, while the piston manufacturing will be discontinued.

Elsewhere

• The Stamping Plant in Indianapolis currently has 650 workers. J.D.Norman has expressed strong interest in buying the plant and expanding operations, eventually expanding the workforce to as many as 2500, which will remain union jobs.

• UAW 977 at the Marion Plant is operating at almost total capacity.

• In Fort Wayne, GM work is up so much, they put a 3rd shift on. 

• TRW bought the Steering Gear operation from Ford and built a new plant in Lafayette.

• UAW Region 3 includes all of Indiana and part of Kentucky. In the Louisville area the Kentucky Truck plant just added a shift, and soon Kentucky will start building a compact that will be for export only. Mo Davison reports that it's possible that 1100 to 1200 additional workers may have to be hired above those already in the plant to meet production.