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U.S. Auto Suppliers' Position 'Precarious'

Posted on: Monday, 6 October 2008, 18:00 CDT

U.S. automobile part suppliers closed 12 plants in September, as the industry reacted to falling auto sales and reduced consumer demand, a report said.

About a third of the industry's companies are near collapse, a recent report by consultant Grant Thornton LLP said, The Detroit News reported Monday.

Following record reductions in the workforce among the Big Three U.S. carmakers this summer, automobile parts suppliers cut 18,200 jobs in September, accounting for 11 percent of the 159,000 jobs reported lost in the month by the U.S. Labor Department, the newspaper said.

"The decline in industry volumes and the shift to more fuel-efficient vehicles is creating a massive ripple effect in the supply chain," Grant Thornton's Kimberly Rodriguez said.

Dave Andrea, vice president of industry analysis and economics at Original Equipment Suppliers Association, said the industry's condition is "as precarious as they have ever been," the News reported.

Source: United Press International

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