rescue to racing for lifesaver

Posts Tagged ‘Industry’

The U.S. General Automotive Repair Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) nationally and for all 50 U.S. States and over 900 metro areas. New to the report this year are: financial ratios, number of firms and payroll estimates. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment, a breakdown of establishments, sales and employment by employee size of establishment (9 categories), and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including car, truck and recreational vehicle repair and engine repair and rebuilding.

Table Of Contents :

Users’ Guide
Industry Definition and Related Industries
Industry Establishments
Sales and Employment Trends
Financial Ratios
Establishments
Firms and Payroll
Sub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
Sub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Number of Establishments
Sub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Number of Employees
5-Year Trend – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
5-Year Trend – Estimated Number of Establishments
5-Year Trend – Estimated Number of Employees
2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Establishments
2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Employees
2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Establishments
2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Employees
2010 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Establishments
2010 U.S. States – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
2010 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Employees
2011 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Establishments
2011 U.S. States – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)
2011 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Employees
Definitions and Terms

To know more about this report & to buy a copy please visit :
http://www.visionshopsters.com/product/2283/2010-U-S-General-Automotive-Repair-Industry-Report.html

Contact us:

Visionshopsters
Ph : 91-22-40583000
Emailid: marketing@visionshopsters.com
Website : www.visionshopsters.com

Intelligent Transportation Systems is the world’s cutting-edge research in the field of transport issues in developed countries and implementing a series of research projects, the core is in response to increasingly heavy traffic demand and environmental pressures, the use of information technology, communication technology, computer technology, control technology, the traditional transport systems in-depth reform to improve efficiency in the use of system resources, system security and reduce resource consumption and environmental pollution. Intelligent Transportation Chinese cities is accelerating the pace of development, particularly in Beijing, Shanghai and other large cities. Some features of vehicle information systems and related services, can be an important complement to intelligent transportation, intelligent transportation integration with China will accelerate the development of vehicle information services market. According to the experience in developed countries, in a mature car market, car sales throughout the automotive industry profits accounted for about 20 percent of profits, supply parts and components accounted for about 20 percent of profits, while 60 percent of the profits generated by the field of automotive services. China’s auto market competition in the field of vehicle sales more and more intense competition in the automotive industry chain is the focus shift to the automotive aftermarket, including vehicle maintenance, beauty, conversion, navigation, surveillance, telematics services and other fields of automotive service China’s auto market will become a new profit growth industry. Vehicle navigation enterprises should fully understand the operation of integrated information services, a huge potential market value, and its necessary follow-up study.

Present, and intelligent transportation relations and is most closely the real-time traffic information for the user released, although the release forms and networks, the current standards are not uniform, but whether to take that form, car information products should have the corresponding functions makes the development of the sub platform with real-time traffic information services. The construction of intelligent transportation systems, should help to improve traffic management business and management level, to management for efficiency, the direction to resources. As an important participant in urban transport groups of private cars will be smart traffic, thus promoting pre-installed navigation system is installed to further improve the rate.

Authoritative advisory body based on data from the navigation system car navigation industry view of the market size, installed navigation systems by 2009 the market scale of 5.572 billion yuan, up 6.8%, and 19.2% in the year 2008 growth rate and 5.216 billion yuan compared with the absolute income, growth rate decreased significantly, and its growth and the automotive industry’s growth is not synchronous, mainly because of low passenger growth, faster, and navigation terminal hardware prices fall faster .

Car car navigation electronic map markets in 2009 sales volume was 362 million yuan, a slight increase compared with 2008, a growth rate of 7.5%.

In accordance with the authority of the advisory body to forecast China’s 2014 pre-installed navigation car sales will reach 1.587 million units, the assembly rate will be close to 7%.

China has become the world’s largest auto market, an effective form of Intelligent Transportation, car navigation industry development.

Short, as people in the car to enjoy increasingly strong demand for services. Enterprises should focus on vehicle-vehicle information system, the full integration of automotive technology and mobile communications technology. Real-vehicle information system has two network, one-car electronic networks, the other is associated with the outside world communication networks. Currently, many of China’s car information system products are not very good integration of these two networks, some of the products communicate only with functions, not associated with the vehicle bus, making navigation device features and functionality in their applications have been carried out a certain limit. As the largest provider of navigation maps of high German companies, government and business services in Beijing Mobile cooperate with the first major cities in China implemented the “urban management through” management system and laid the implementation of relevant norms. Currently, the German software has been involved in the Shanghai, Nanjing, Jinan and more than 20 areas of “urban management through” project implementation, while further expanding the “real-time communications tax” and other location-based wireless network of government services, also participated in the 2008 Olympic Sailing Committee of Beijing Olympic Games, positioning and monitoring related to the project scheduling system. 2009 software for high-Tak vehicle navigation electronic map in China reached 51.2% market share year on year in 2008 improved by 2 percentage points, to obtain market share the first results. High German will consolidate the current navigation electronic map in China leading supplier of products and services based on the position to lead more with the electronic map-related services and applications; the future will navigate electronic maps and a comprehensive POI database, based on collaboration of the navigation efforts to establish a unified chain of location services platform, and achieve seamless integration with a variety of applications and interactive network to provide users with comprehensive location services. A new generation of 3D high German BMW navigation map of the Chinese market before it is three-dimensional navigation in the Chinese car debut. Three-dimensional navigation in the car before the installation in the field of application of the landmark, which is a new generation of high-end German navigation technology in a dominant display. Automotive industry will accelerate the integration of development and communications.

The U.S. Automotive Transmission Repair Industry report, published annually by Barnes Reports, contains timely and accurate industry statistics, forecasts and demographics. The report features 2010 current and 2011 forecast estimates on the size of the industry (sales, establishments, employment) nationally and for all 50 U.S. States and over 900 metro areas. New to the report this year are: financial ratios, number of firms and payroll estimates. The report also includes industry definition, 5-year historical trends on industry sales, establishments and employment, a breakdown of establishments, sales and employment by employee size of establishment (9 categories), and estimates on up to 10 sub-industries, including automotive transmission repair.

Table Of Contents :

 

Users’ GuideIndustry Definition and Related Industries Industry Establishments Sales and Employment Trends Financial Ratios Establishments Firms and Payroll Sub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)Sub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Number of EstablishmentsSub-Industries – 2009 Estimated Number of Employees5-Year Trend – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)5-Year Trend – Estimated Number of Establishments5-Year Trend – Estimated Number of Employees 2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Establishments2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)2010 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Employees 2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Establishments 2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions) 2011 U.S. Metropolitan Areas – Estimated Number of Employees2010 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Establishments2010 U.S. States – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)2010 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Employees2011 U.S. States – Estimated Number of Establishments2011 U.S. States – Estimated Industry Sales ($Millions)2011 U.S. States – Estimated Number of EmployeesDefinitions and Terms
To know more about this report & to buy a copy please visit :
http://www.visionshopsters.com/product/2232/2010-U-S-Automotive-Transmission-Repair-Industry-Report.html

Contact us:

Visionshopsters
Ph : 91-22-40583000
Emailid: marketing@visionshopsters.com
Website : www.visionshopsters.com

Abstract

 

The study examined the impact of bank consolidation on automotive industry financing.

61 respondents selected through strategic random sampling technique from GM Motors Nigeria Ltd formed the population for the study.

Data was collected using a survey instrument designed by the researcher. Chi-Square Statistical method was used to test the hypotheses and all findings held at 0.05 alpha significant level. The Analysis of the data revealed that the participants almost unanimously agreed that bank consolidation had impacted positively to the automobile sector in Nigerian economy.

Based on the findings, it was therefore recommended among others things that a regular review of automotive industry in Nigeria by the appropriate authorities while effort should be made to improve the power system (electricity situation) in Nigeria.

 

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Mergers and acquisitions should be taken seriously as an instrument for enhancing banking efficiency, size, and developmental roles in every economy. Mergers and acquisitions especially in the banking industry is now a global phenomenon.

All over the world and given the role of finance, size has become an important ingredient for success in the globalizing world. The last few years have witnessed the creation of the world’s big banking groups through mergers and acquisitions. The trend has been influenced by factors such as prospects of cost-savings due to economies of scale as well as more efficient allocation of resources, enhanced efficiency in resource allocation, and risk reduction arising from improved management. However, the automotive industry is not left out in the process of alliances. Over the years the industry has witnessed different types of global alliances. For instances Renault- Nissan, VW-Skoda, GM-Daewoo to mention a few them

In the past, the small size of most Nigerian banks, each with expensive headquarters, heavy fixed costs and operating expenses and with bunching of branches in few commercial centers had lead to very high average cost for the industry. This in turn has implications for the cost of intermediation, the spread between deposit and lending rates, and puts undue pressures on banks to engage in sharp practices as means of survival. In an effort to survive the hurdle, the Central Bank of Nigeria introduced the 25 billion Naira minimum capital base for banks in an effort to make our banks much stronger and to able to compete favorably with other banks in the world in providing credit facilities to other sectors of Nigeria economy.

However, in 2004 as part of economic reform in some emerging economies, the Nigerian banking system underwent remarkable change, in terms of the number of institutions, ownership structure, as well as depth and breadth of operations. Banks begin to merge with other banks; while bigger banks begin to acquire smaller ones while automotive industry has become an increasingly pertinent contributor to country’s’ gross domestic product, mainly through strong growth in the motor industries in terms of increasing volume of local production and number of sales. And this is not peculiar to Nigeria alone.

This scenario raises the question “what impact of banks consolidation on automotive industry financing in Nigeria? It is important to envision this evolution from a life cycle of production assembly and sales that have impacted on the financial statements of GM Motors Nig LTD. In order to sustain this process, the automotive industry as a whole requires huge capital intensity from strong and reliable financial back- up to remain viable in the economy and optimize their environmental impact, communicate positive steps to non-governmental organization and other stakeholders to discharge their social corporate responsibilities while maintaining design of product, service system from a sustainability point of view. Hence this work is set to assess the impact of bank consolidation and capital provision for the automotive industry financing in Nigeria (A case study of GM Nigeria ltd)

COOPERATE PROFILE OF GM MOTORS LTD

GM Nigeria is a foremost player in the automotive industry and one of the leading motor vehicle assemblers and marketers in the country. GM Nigeria is a joint venture company between UAC of Nigeria Plc – one of the biggest conglomerates in Nigeria and General Motors Corporation of Detroit, the world’s largest automobile manufacturers. The relationship of these two companies gives them the best support and advantage in all facets of their operations, i.e. Sales, Parts, Services and Assembling.

About GM Global
General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM), the world’s largest automaker, has been the global industry sales leader since 1931. Founded in 1908, GM today employs about 321,000 people around the world. It has manufacturing operations in 32 countries and its vehicles are sold in 200 countries.  GM’s automotive brands are Buick, Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Holden, HUMMER, Oldsmobile, Opel, Pontiac, Saab, Saturn and Vauxhall. In some countries, the GM distribution network also markets vehicles manufactured by GM Daewoo, Isuzu, Subaru and Suzuki

Brief History of GM Motors in Nigeria

1920 – Started as a Company called Miller Brothers Nigeria Limited which imported cars in to West Africa

1927 – Started importing completely assembled Bedford commercial vehicles into Nigeria.

1929 – Became the Motors Department of then UAC, now known as UACN Plc

1931 – Name changed to Niger Motors Limited. Continued importing built vehicles.

1949 – Commercial Vehicles were shipped in as double unit packs which contained partially assembled chassis for two vehicles in one pack and the wheels in the second pack to be assembled locally.

1959 – Established Nigeria’s First Vehicle Assembly Plant at Apapa. The Company assembled the popular Bedford Trucks of various models.

1965 – The Assembly Plant was renamed Federated Motors Industries, Then popularly known as “FMI” and the distribution arm remained “Niger Motors”.

1979 – FMI started the assembly of trucks from “completely knocked down” (CRD) components.

1980 – The Federal Government accorded FMI the “Progressive Vehicle Manufacturer” status, under the Approved User Scheme. This nomenclature was to attest to its high standard and quality products at that period. FMI and Niger Motors were converted into divisions of UACN Plc.

1991 – UACN Plc and General Motors Corporation of USA incorporated GM Nigeria Limited as a Joint Venture Company. The Assets of FMI and Niger Motors were then transferred to GM Nigeria Limited.

Vision

To be number one in the commercial segment of the automotive industry by providing exceptional value to our customers.

Mission

To provide automotive products of such quality as to enable our customers enjoy superior value while delighting other stakeholders

Incorporation and Address

GM Nigeria Limited is incorporated in Nigeria under the Companies & Allied Matters Act 1990 as a private limited liability company, and domiciled in Nigeria. The address of its registered office is:
31, Mobolaji Johnson Street ,
Oregun Ikeja, Lagos .

Principal Activities

The principal activities of the company are: assembly of SKD (Semi Knocked Down) motor components to produce medium and heavy commercial trucks, importation of FBU (Fully Built Unit) pick-ups, marketing and distribution of vehicles through its network or branches and dealers nationwide. The company provides product support for parts and service at its Oregun plant, Port Harcourt branch, Abuja branch and through its numerous Parts and services dealers. The company is also involved in provision of technical training for employees, dealers and fleet customer’s personnel.

The company’s product range includes Isuzu Light, medium and heavy commercial vehicles (all with various body applications).

 

Shareholding Of Gm Nigeria Ltd

According to the register of members at 31st December, 2007, the following shareholders of the company held more than 10% of the capital issued shared capital of the company:

Shareholder

Number of Shares

Percentage Held (%)

UAC of Nigeria Plc

72,000,000

60

General Motors, USA

36,000,000

30

Staff of GM motors Nigeria       12,000,000                                 10

Source financial statement GM motors 2007

 

1.2       STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Serious national efforts towards the development of the automotive industry in Nigeria took place in the early 1970s, with initial joint venture agreements between Peugeot and Volkswagen companies. By 2001, there were over 20 different enterprises manufacturing different types of vehicles, from boats to trucks, including motorcycles and bicycles automobiles in Nigeria. The capacity utilization of the majority of these companies is, however, very low, largely due to the high cost of importing the components needed to assemble vehicles, non government patronage and poor capital base of some of these organizations. By the introduction of the policy of bank consolidation a lot of Nigeria feels that the banking sector will see to the end of this problem. But on the contrary, Nigeria roads are littered with imported second hand vehicle, many of them as old as 10years, as the country is an attractive dumping ground for all kinds of toxic waste while a lot of automotive companies in Nigeria winding up. Hence this study is sets to examine the impact of bank consolidation on automotive financing in Nigeria.

THE OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

     This study sets out to:

To establish the effects of bank consolidation on capital provision for the automobile sector in Nigeria. To provide a research oriented framework for the development of good understanding of the basic aspects and importance of bank consolidation as it affects automotive industry in any economy. To determine the inherent relationship between bank consolidation and capital provision for the automotive industry Determine the resent increase financial statement of GM motors and the working capital available for the industry

  RESEARCH QUESTIONS

       The following Research Questions will thus guild this study:

In what way does the bank consolidation affect funding for the automotive industry in Nigeria? What are the benefits that the automotive sector has derive from bank consolidation exercise? To what extent does Banks consolidation provide a vehicle for automotive industry survival in a dynamic business environment? To what extent does bank consolidation enhance growth in the automotive industries? To what extent does the resultant effect of banks consolidation increase the market potential of the automotive industry

 STATEMENT OF HYPOTHESES

The following stated research hypotheses will guild this study:

 HYPOTHESIS 1

Ho: There is no significant impact of bank consolidation and capital provision for the automotive industry in Nigeria.

H1: There is a significant impact of bank consolidation and capital provision for the automotive industry in Nigeria.

 

HYPOTHESIS 2

Ho: Banks consolidation do not provides a vehicle for automotive industry survival and growth, in a dynamic business environment.

H1: Banks consolidation provides a vehicle for automotive industry survival in a dynamic business environment.

 

HYPOTHESIS 3

H0: The effect banks mergers does not increase the market potential of the automotive industry

H1: The effect of banks merger increases the market potential of the automotive industry

 

1.6       SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The research is significant in the following ways: Firstly, it will help investors in the automobile industry to appropriate the opportunities provided by the consolidation exercise in that particular sector.

Secondly, it will further assist entrepreneurs to understand the relevance of consolidation of banks to capital provision and finally, it will serve as useful source of material for researchers and students.

 

1.7 THE SCOPE/DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

This Study will be limited to Sixty one staffs of GM motor Nigeria Ltd. It will covers the funding of the automotive industry in Nigeria.

 

DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY

 The study only looked at the impact of bank consolidation on the automotive industry. The population of the study covers only the staff of GM motors Ltd Oregun, Lagos. Therefore, this study may not be generalized.

As the researcher was the sole interviewer and instrument of this study, researcher bias may be possible in any of the interpretations. Though the researcher worked hard to keep out any personal opinions, the possibility of subjectivity may still be present.

Also, it is possible that respondents didnt give accurate information about their operations in other to maintain some level of social dignity. Human Resources manager of the organization also had to answer interview questions from the researcher. This provided a certain level of uncomfortableness and uncertainty as he was worried that he may be judged by his responses. And finally the dearth of literature materials in the automobile sector also was a major challenge

 Summary of Findings

This work examined the impacts of banks consolidation on automotive industry financing, using G.M Motor Ltd as a case study. Sixty copies of questionnaires were distributed, fifty one were returned giving 85% response rate. The results of the findings show that: consolidation have provided a vehicle for automotive industry survival and growth in a dynamic business environment.

Again, automotive industry seems to grow due to banks consolidation that can provide huge capital requirement in case of expansion through new products development or acquisition of small automotive companies and this is usually a strategy to form global alliances designed to monopolize and expand the brand image when merger occur and achieve in some cases political power. Furthermore, banks consolidation provides a vehicle for automotive industry’s’ corporate survival and growth in a dynamic financial environment as it boosts the strength of automotive industry and thus it enhances automotive industry’s financial capacity. Also the results showed that banks merger provides economies of scale and achieve some form of synergy for the automotive industry and the resultant impact of banks consolidation increases the market potential of the automotive industry.

The research also revealed that banks consolidation result in a higher market price and higher earnings per share coupled with improvements in its stability though opinion is divided as to whether the dividend before and after automotive industry alliances cannot be maintained after the consolidation in order for the market price of the automotives stock to be established.

Banks consolidation seems to increase corporate power and improve market share in some cases, resulting in a higher price earning ratio. The work also showed that bank consolidation aids the automotive industry in financing that would not otherwise be possible to obtain, which helps to achieve some synergistic effect without strong bank’s financial capital base.

Also revealed by the study is the fact that banks Consolidation brings about adverse automotive industry financial sustainable effects because the anticipated benefits did not materialize for expected cost reductions were not forthcoming hence it should result in higher earnings or improve its stability. Furthermore, the findings showed that banks merger is vested in automotive industry ability to foster growth and the resultant profitability which will otherwise be difficult and nearly be impossible without banks strong capitalization

Conclusion

Nigerian’s automobile industry is one of the continent’s fastest growing sectors, but it lacks the necessary local technology and finance to fully harness its potential and contribute to national growth and development. This state of affairs has ensured that investing in the sector has become the preserve of just a few foreign companies in the automobile sector, largely based outside of the continent. Bank Consolidation introduced in Nigeria in 2005, is an expression of strong desire of Nigeria government to reinforce an instrument for enhancing banking efficiency, size, and developmental roles in her economy. It is pertinent to know that this exercise has assisted the automaker industry to raise capital that may be require in times of boom as well as depression and successful entry into products market as well as into new geographical markets in Nigeria. The primary purpose of corporate entities has been to increase the financial and operational strength. Banks, consolidation has helped in playing important roles of supporting the real sector like automotive industry in a global context hence banks have remained a new phenomenon in financing big projects in automotive industry in the corporate business world.

Outside the capital provision the automobile sector in Nigeria has also experienced a lot much neglect than other sectors ( Abiodun 2008). In seeking to achieve success in this sector vigorous efforts should be made to counter some of this factors which are known to have hindered achievement in this sector in the past like; power, local content policy and restriction on the importation of cars which can be locally assembled here. Effort should be made to sustain this little improvement that has been recorded in this sector as result of bank consolidation.

 RECOMMENDATION

Based on the findings from the study and the facts at the disposal of the researchers, the following recommendations are made

Regular and study review of the automotive parts/components development industry in Nigeria by the appropriate authorities Government should provide incentive measures to encourage the local auto makers for  ensuring compliance with approved local programmes; The right of inspection and other quality assurance activities in factories, ports and roads in pursuance of minimum standard of automobile on Nigeria Roads by the appropriate authorities Regular evaluation of the pricing structure and quality of the products of the assembly plants to ensure international competitiveness; Forecasting the demand and supply patterns for various types of automotive vehicles produced in Nigeria and the basic raw material requirements by the appropriate authorities The automobile sector should liaise with relevant organisations charged with the production of raw materials (such as sheet metal alloy and special steel) and make sure is available when needed

Finally, The Nigerian government as a matter of urgency should articulate policies that can promote the development of local technology. Basic technical capacities which should include discouraging imports of completely built up units, providing incentives to local assemblers to increase local content in production (tax reduction and subsidies) and regulations to ensure local content in varying percentages.

 

 

 

The Australian Auto Market was steady for 2006 and continued its strong run of 10 years by achieving its second best year on record. A stable Government, strong economy and a general feeling of wealth all contributed to the strong sales result.

Looking at the numbers closely and we start to see some changes that occurred in several market segments as the impact from the fuel crisis took its toll on the more fuel inefficient large passenger vehicles and raised the sales volume of smaller cars.

Domestic sales volume now makes up about 20% of all sales and will possibly diminish more as the consumers buy more imported fuel efficient cars and turn away from the Australian Designed ‘family cars’.

Much development effort over the past several years has gone into producing high performance vehicles that handle to ‘European standards’ to attract the fast money. Cars that today are less relevant than a few years ago as fuel prices bite the boy racers wallet. This has possibly been at the expense of developing a locally built diesel engine. It is hard to believe that Ford or GMH have not seen fit to offer a diesel alternative to their line up of petrol engines. Once again they are caught flat footed as the market changes are moving away from their offer.

Future risks are the actual break even point for annual production. Common knowledge suggests that an OEM needs to produce 60,000 vehicles of one model per annum to make money. Certainly Mitsubishi are a long way from that target. Without an export strategy how can the South Australian Government sensibly call for assistance from the Federal Government by getting them to delay the lowering of the import duty?

The lowering of import duties combined with the strong dollar will increase the availability of leading edge imported products. Add to this the desire for fuel efficient and high performance diesel engines from the higher quality diesel fuel and the local OEM’s are likely to suffer more. We see that the automotive retail landscape will continue to evolve with the consumers being the winners.

Perhaps the argument for a lowering of the National fuel consumption will take on more weight due to environmental concerns than protecting a few thousand jobs. Sounds like a problem for environmental evangelists like Peter Garrett.

The opportunity for Chinese OEM’s to enter the market is clear. Their investment needed to meet or exceed the emission standards is the same as their European export push. The only road block is their ability to produce a right hand drive vehicle and several have already built these vehicles.

The US economy and the resulting weakness of the dollar looks like it may well contribute to the price of crude oil continuing to rise as investors have been holding the commodity instead of dollars. This means that as the cost of a barrel of crude oil comes close to the 100 dollar figure then so fuel prices have also continued to rise.

So do higher fuel costs mean we are likely to buy or use cars, vans and Lorries less in 2008? Well seemingly not based on a latest poll of motorists. Despite fuel prices increasing at alarming rates a whopping 79 percent of motorists questioned said they had not changed their petrol and fuel buying habits and had no plans to do so. In fact the motorists questioned said petrol prices would have to increase at even more alarming rates to stop them from filling up.

Environmental issues would it seem not be as important as governments throughout the world as over 1 in 3 motorists confirmed they had no plans to replace their vehicles for more environmentally friendly cars before 2010.

And so if motorists are seemingly unaffected by rising fuel costs and are prepared to continue driving despite increased road tax and the impact on the environment surely positive times are ahead for the industry in 2008?

Well before car manufacturers and dealers start doing cartwheels, caution would certainly be advised as whilst General Motors can seen promising performance in emerging markets they have seen big losses in both American and European markets.

And with the world economy in such an uncertain state as 2007 draws to a close 2008 could well see new car sales fall with used car sales increasing. Car sales and indeed sales of all types are also likely to increase via the internet in 2008 so car dealers (new and used) without an internet presence should really be looking at establishing themselves in this emerging marketplace.

And what of the actual motorist, what does 2008 have in store for us? Well how about further increases in vehicle tax, more toll roads, increased congestion charges and still a seeming lack of a viable alternative to road use through reliable, clean and safe public transport.

The good news for some motorists on one front is that whilst the government is seemingly do all they can to penalise the motorist, insurance premiums including car insurance, van insurance and motor trade insurance are pretty stable. In fact with such competition in the insurance industry the cost of insurance like combined motor trade insurance could even fall and savings could be made.

And motor traders who are looking to make savings on their motor trade insurance premiums in 2008 using a specialist motor trade insurance broker could well be the route to take to make sure they get the protection they need at a price that is right.

2008 promises to be an exciting time for all involved in the automotive industry so put your seat belts on, buckle up and enjoy the ride.

Rising fuel prices, unstable financial markets and taxation changes with the apparent aim of getting us to use our cars less often (or at least pay more to use them) have been just some of the issues that have affected the automotive industry in the past 12 months. This article looks at what 2008 may hold for the automotive industry and road users in general.

The US economy and the resulting weakness of the dollar looks like it may well contribute to the price of crude oil continuing to rise as investors have been holding the commodity instead of dollars. This means that as the cost of a barrel of crude oil comes close to the $100 figure then so fuel prices have also continued to rise.

So do higher fuel costs mean we are likely to buy or use cars, vans and Lorries less in 2008? Well seemingly not based on a latest poll of motorists. Despite fuel prices increasing at alarming rates a whopping 79 percent of motorists questioned said they had not changed their petrol and fuel buying habits and had no plans to do so. In fact the motorists questioned said petrol prices would have to increase at even more alarming rates to stop them from filling up.

Environmental issues would it seem not be as important as governments throughout the world as over 1 in 3 motorists confirmed they had no plans to replace their vehicles for more environmentally friendly cars before 2010.

And so if motorists are seemingly unaffected by rising fuel costs and are prepared to continue driving despite increased road tax and the impact on the environment surely positive times are ahead for the industry in 2008?

Well before car manufacturers and dealers start doing cartwheels, caution would certainly be advised as whilst General Motors can seen promising performance in emerging markets they have seen big losses in both American and European markets.

And with the world economy in such an uncertain state as 2007 draws to a close 2008 could well see new car sales fall with used car sales increasing. Car sales and indeed sales of all types are also likely to increase via the internet in 2008 so car dealers (new and used) without an internet presence should really be looking at establishing themselves in this emerging marketplace.

And what of the actual motorist, what does 2008 have in store for us? Well how about further increases in vehicle tax, more toll roads, increased congestion charges and still a seeming lack of a viable alternative to road use through reliable, clean and safe public transport.

The good news for some motorists on one front is that whilst the government is seemingly do all they can to penalise the motorist, insurance premiums including car insurance, van insurance and motor trade insurance are pretty stable. In fact with such competition in the insurance industry the cost of insurance like combined motor trade insurance could even fall and savings could be made.

And motor traders who are looking to make savings on their motor trade insurance premiums in 2008 using a specialist insurance broker could well be the route to take to make sure they get the protection they need at a price that is right.

Article by Jeremy S. Abrahamson

It seems that the national car rental industry has now evolved into a developed state with the progress achieved in the past few years. Over the past five years, most companies in the national car rental industry have been working towards enhancing their fleet sizes and to increase the profits. Enterprise currently the company with the largest fleet in the US has added 75,000 vehicles to its fleet since 2002 which help increase its number of facilities to 170 at the airports. Hertz, meanwhile, has increased its fleet by 25,000 vehicles and raised its international presence in 150 counties as opposed to 140 in 2002.

In addition, Avis has increased its fleet from 210,000 in 2002 to 220,000 despite recent economic adversities. In the aftermath or the recession, although most companies throughout the industry were struggling, Enterprise among the industry leaders had been growing steadily.

A reason for the boost in overall national car rental volumes, is the current focus of operator activity has been increasingly directed towards offering greater diversity and choice. This has been specifically vital in attempts to capture the general growth in tourist-related demand. On average, international tourists spend around one-sixth of their transport expenditure on car renting.

Also due to the greater amount of personal rentals and also increased number of companies renting cars national car rental volumes have increased. Institutional, economic, social and demographic changes all seem to have played a part in boosting the national car rental industry when considering the past 10 years.

Given the transformations that have taken place in the age structure, population distribution, and general developments within the economy the national car rental industry may continue in its line of success. Picking and reserving a car model which has the features you desire is perhaps simplest when done through the internet. It is possible to rent a car for a day or even a year or two depending on what you want.

Although the national car rental industry is thriving and has been successful you must take care when choosing a car to rent. Choosing a car which perfectly suits your purpose and also selecting a well reputed car rental operator is vital as there can be many operators renting out cars that are not maintained and serviced and are actually not in a fitting condition to be driven. Some experience on the subject and insurance policy of the car rental agency in question might come in handy as well!

About the Author

If you love this article, you will also love another article written by this article’s author on moving trucks rental and moving trucks for rent.

Finding a job can for some be a lengthy and drawn out experience, requiring much groundwork and preparation. Finding the “perfect” job can be even more of a chore and something the majority of us can only dream about.

Now, imagine trying to find a job in a particular industry, take for example the automotive sector. The usual process of finding a job in this area would require visiting several job agencies to browse the available vacancies, perhaps utilising their online services. You’d then maybe browse through the job pages of your local newspaper or maybe even a national newspaper if the job was of a particularly rare type and depending on how far you were willing to travel.

Once you’ve managed to find a couple of vacancies that may suit you, taking note of the fact they may not be your ideal position, you begin the process of applying for and preparing for an interview. The time taken to get to this stage may have been long and filled with many let downs.

What if you could find a website that offered a one stop solution to this problem, listing countless automotive, motor trade and automotive engineering jobs? Your prayers would surely be answered and your chances of finding that elusive perfect job suddenly seeming much more realistic.

Well that is actually a reality with the advent of a new breed of Specialist industry specific job site. If you are looking for an automotive job you will now be able to find all that you need in one little package by visiting inautomotive.com an automotive job site offering you the chance to find that specialist dream job you’ve always wanted.

The site has many options to offer including the ability to upload your CV for prospective employers to look at, searching jobs by employer, a category search with 1000’s of vacancies to consider and even an email alert to let you know when a job you’d find interesting is added.

You will even find a news section with the latest goings on in the automotive industry, allowing you to keep up to date with everything you need to know on your favourite subject.

Remember, whatever your dream job might be and whatever industry it may fall in. Never give up until you have found that perfect career that is waiting to be found.

Article by John Michelcane

Mature demands and constant pricing pressures are triggering automotive manufacturers to reduce costs, ensure good quality and compliance with strict regulations such as TREAD, CAFÉ, and ISO 14000 etc. This increases the demand for precise strategic measures and requires focus not only on revenue drivers but also in augmenting the productivity and operations across global manufacturing networks. Increased pressures to achieve standardized operations across world-over manufacturing networks requires full coordination, inter plant collaboration, intra-plant collaboration and adequate liaison between departments manufacturing services providing companies.

Manufacturing being the core function for any automotive manufacturing unit, peripheral activities like market research, product development, utilities, logistics etc. can be handled by external agencies, aiding bottom line profits. These agencies can be categorized into four broad categories:

Automotive Market Research Companies

Backed with in depth knowledge of the automotive industry, market research companies provide in detail and reliable automotive information, accurate forecasts, actionable research information and recommendations to improve strategic position of the client organization. They offer unique perspectives to standardized approaches on the basis of comprehensive statics and accurate, reliable forecasts.Product Development Companies

Since the automotive product development processes have become increasingly complex with the need to collaborate tightly across various design disciplines, global scattered design teams, and geographically dispersed manufacturing operations, the involvement of product development company spans across every phase of product development process including ideation, R&D, optimization, testing, pre-production prototyping, production control, post production lifecycle monitoring and support. They help automotive companies meet these challenges head on and enable product development across heterogeneous environments, facilitating design and equipment reuse.

Utilities Management Companies

Business costs to carry out full procurement, audit and management of company’s utility equipments and telecom can be a nightmare to deal with. Companies hire / outsource the trouble area to utility management companies, thus saving time and money. These companies analyze company’s consumption data, detect inefficiencies and procure new energy and consumption contracts to improve accuracy and usefulness of management information on utilities.

Third Party Inspection Companies

Third party or external inspection companies provide a whole range of services from design assessment, examination of raw material, in-process inspection to final inspection. They also ensure that the machining equipments and processes at vendor’s end meet prescribed quality standards. Powered by highly skilled, experienced and qualified inspection engineers, these companies bring along hands on experience in of the best-in-class automotive manufacturing practices.

Logistics Service Providers

The backbone of a functional supply chain system is the efficient and timely logistics of end products. More and more automotive consumers are requesting highly individualized and customized vehicles. The shift in trend raises highly complex modules of supply chain with order/vehicle specific mo being supplied in sequence. As a result, logistics service providers are further in pressures to support lean and fast LSP (Large Supplier Park) operations with towering volumes across numerous commodities.

About the Author

Lantrn is one the largest B2B marketplace for local supplier and buyers in US and Canada. It offers single platform that helps you to find potential customers and material handling equipment such as Material manufacturing services, fasteners, Searching for suppliers building construction and much more.