Also since GM sells the most trucks, when the market gets the way it is , Im sure they will feel it the most.. I live right down the street from the local Chevy dealer, and the New 2500 Duramaxs dont stay on the lot very long....
trailrider325 wrote: to many people have smartened up and stopped buying gm junk
2007 GMC DURAMAX,LBZ,4 by Crew, Allison
Magnaflow Turbo Back Exhaust
Predator Tuner
18by9 Helo's on BFG's
5year old boy
3 year old baby girl
Sea ray boat
Wilderness 5th wheel
SandRail
HD WideGlide
FORD Expediton
honda Eu3000
GM had intentionally built up the inventory of the HD trucks before the AAM contract date in anticipation of a strike so if the strike were invoked, they'd have HD trucks in inventory to sell. They guessed right!
The hitch draw bars as well as several other components are made here in my area and the extremely large GM orders for product prior to the AAM strike had the production lines running 24/7, that's weekends, along with holidays for over 3 months prior to the contract date even though the actual pickup truck sales had already slowed down. The plant manager is a close friend of ours and we socialize together and talk. The AAM strike has crippled new truck orders but thanks to the built up inventory, there's still lots of GM HD trucks to be had. True, the sales has slowed more than GM anticipated but that bodes badly for AAM's strike as only the new trucks orders are affected. Note! the strike's not settled yet! The strike alone has cost GM a lot of HD sales and caused GM 800 million dollars so far. Won't be long now and the HD axles production will be sourced elsewhere. I'm not going to say where but stay tuned!
A 60 day inventory is the "bean counters" ideal dream! Not very practical!!! Check the inventory of other 2 of the big 3's 3/4 and 1 ton pickups and you'll find GM's inventory is lower to much lower.
2004 Chev 2500HD D/A crew cab LB 4X4 - Air Bags - Loaded
915 Lance Camper with 2'X 8' rear porch (my own design n build)
29 ft Carri-lite 5th wheel - 1 large slide - specially built
36 ft Carriage - 3 axle 5'er -NOW SOLD- Looking at some new 5'ers
This may help your understanding of why usually only simple words are used in member's posts.
There are several publications from which you can get the actual data weekly for automotive number related information etc. "Auto News Digest" is one. "Automotive News" is another. Just 2 of several. Unfortunately, all these publications are subscription based and are in the $150. to $200. per year cost. As the print in these publications is copyrighted as nearly all "pay for" publications are. To reproduce and post the actual article can get you into big legal problems. So I doubt many members are willing to chance it. I know I wouldn't as I know better. That's why you pay for the subscription.
A member can post some of the information he has read, within limits, but not reproduce the copyrighted article etc.
A lot of the information you seek or are asking about can be found in various newspapers, financial venues such as The Wall Street Journal etc, on TV programs, and on some Internet sites if you know which to access for the particular information you seek. It takes many hours of research to find a good site only to have it close, change, or become a pay site. Good Luck!
Yes, I understand what you are saying. However, by changing the denominator in the equation to calculate days supply, you affect the result.
For example, if they are using the last 5 days, and sales were low in this period, you will get a much larger days supply. If you are using the last 90 days in time of declining sales, your days supply may be lower than it should be. Therefore, I could manipulate this number, and post anything to a website to support my position and be "statistically" correct.
I was just hoping that he had found this information in a "free" forum and was willing to share.
I was just hoping that he had found this information in a "free" forum and was willing to share.
Check your PM...
In automotive terms, day's supply is rather simple:
If the carmaker stopped producing a particular model today, how many days can they sell that model until they have none left.
It includes dealer inventory, any other storage and cars that are in transit.
I think GM is on the right track but they aren't there yet. I would like to see a huge restructuring at the management level. Stop paying those obscene wages, trim down and pay the workers a decent wage benefit package and come up with a product the world will want. The ball is in their court.
I agree with that statement. Now, if we could only convince the Democrat party, then we'd perhaps be able to accomplish your listed goals as stated above.
GM had intentionally built up the inventory of the HD trucks before the AAM contract date in anticipation of a strike so if the strike were invoked, they'd have HD trucks in inventory to sell. They guessed right!
I haven't seen any evidence of excessive stockpiling but that's not to say it isn't true. But consider that plants either run, or they don't (or they cut shifts). The speed of cars coming out of the plant doesn't fluctuate *significantly* without adding or subtracting shifts. And I believe the plants were already running at capacity, so it's tough to get significantly more output out of a plant that is already running.
Because the truck market had slowed considerably, we do have evidence that GM planned on cutting production anyways, and the strike couldn't have come at a better time because it weakened the Union's negotiating power and reduced inventory at the same time...while making the UAW look like the "bad" guy in the press.
The domestics have way too much inventory for many models, and sharp declines in truck sales have compounded this. There are public statements from each that they are doing what they can to reduce inventory. Cars sitting around without being sold hurt the dealers as well as the MFR.
60 days is definitely the ideal target, but not many domestic models achieve it. That's why we hear all the statements about "over-capacity" and "excessive inventory". But it costs money to slow/idle a plant, so usually increasing the day's supply (to a degree) is the lesser of two evils.
* This post was
edited 05/07/08 01:57pm by pronstar *
Maybe I can shed some light on your question as to "stockpiling" etc. The stockpiling I had referenced is not as in the final assembled sellable vehicle sitting in an inventory lot etc. My post was to do with the components/supplier made parts and assemblies that go to into making the final assembled complete vehicle. ie the hitch draw bar situation in my post.
To understand, you need to follow this explanation:
First, you have to think back when the "just in time" manufacturing concept was implemented. What "just in time" really did was simply shift warehousing from the vehicle manufacturer to the supplier of manufactured or assembled components. It was called a cost cutting maneuver but actually it only passed the buck down to the supplier. Why? Because the suppliers doesn't have any more tools, stamping presses, machines, component assembly lines, etc, or people than he did before "just in time's" implementation. In fact, the supplier has LESS tooling, machines, and employees to work with than before by mandated "just in time" cost cutting. All suppliers have been forced to reduce product pricing, labor, and overhead, etc! Since most supplier contract manufactured components and sub assemblies are assigned a yearly planning volume with 3 months or appropriate timing material purchasing authorization. Then, the suppliers are given shipping schedules (releases) for quantity of product to be on its way weekly to the assembly plant line. Since the supplier has less to work with to provide his product on time, he HAS to build ahead and warehouse for cutting his cost. Normally, supplier warehousing refers to the sub components which are used in HIS final products and assemblies. His final product is then assembled and shipped as required to meet his customer's weekly schedule needs.
Maybe this will help? Take a stamped bumper support bracket for example. The vehicle assembly line (customer) calls for the shipping of 500 brackets per week. Does the supplier only stamp 500 brackets? Then pull the die out of the stamping press and remove the coil, only to do it all over the next week and run another 500 pcs? NEVER!!! The setup may take only 2 hours with 2 employees but that's 4 man/plant hours every week of non productive time. At a cheap hourly operation's rate of $100. per hour rate, that would be $400. wasted every week on just the one simple bracket production. Multiply that by the 50, 100, or more parts the supplier makes in his operation and it quickly changes the operation's bottom line to RED, "losing money". The steel used for this bumper bracket is purchased in coil form. One coil may make perhaps 3,000 brackets. Only stamping 500 pcs per week would mean down time and employee non productive time as the overhead crane loading or unloading the maybe 10,000 to 20,000 lb coil and doing it up 6 times before the coil was gone if only 500 parts were run each week. So much cheaper and more efficient to set the stamping die/press and the coil up and make the necessary adjustments to produce the acceptable "in tolerance" quality bracket and run the entire coil out. So that's what the supplier does and warehouses the other 5 weeks of brackets. Assembled vehicle and component inventory are different animals but yet part of the whole.
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