The Canadian automotive parts maker – which has manufacturing operations in all three NAFTA countries, China and throughout Europe – reduced its estimate for total sales in 2018 by 1.4 per cent from its previous outlook.
The drop was led by poor Fiat-Chrysler sales, which recorded their worst month since early-2014.
But cracks are beginning to appear in certain emerging economies, a new report from Scotiabank says, and the threat of rising U.S. protectionism seems to have impacted vehicle sales in China.
According to the Q2 2018 Automotive Tooling Barometer, both die and mold shops in North America experienced a decrease in utilization from Q1 2018 to Q2 2018, with a significant amount of business being pushed to the second half of the year.
But sales in the U.S. continue to beat expectations on the back of strength in trucks, Scotiabank’s new report says.
The federal agency says sales were up in 14 of 21 industries, representing 72.2 per cent of the manufacturing sector.
And driven by increasing production and the growth of government regulations, the global market for instrument clusters will be worth US$9.02 billion in 2018, the report from MarketsandMarkets says.
But U.S. sales were much stronger than expected last month, Scotiabank said, buoyed by healthy economic activity.
But U.S. purchases were mixed in February, Scotiabank said, with each of the Detroit automakers reporting lower sales.
Canadian passenger vehicle sales exceeded 2 million units for the first time ever last year, a new report from Scotiabank said, climbing to an annual record of 2.04 million units. It’s the best back-to-back annual total on record, even as sales in Ontario decline 3%.
Driven by a high demand for high-performance plastics and significantly higher margins, the Germany-based company increased group sales by 18.8 per cent to 14.1 billion euros over the past fiscal year.
The Cincinnati, Ohio-based processing machinery maker reported US$325 million in sales in the fourth quarter of 2017, which represents a nine per cent increase over Q4 2016.
But daily rental volumes dampened U.S. sales, the report from Scotiabank said.
Stronger economic growth and replacement demand are expected to drive sales higher in North America and Western Europe, a new Scotiabank report said.
Citing the U.S. tax cuts passed last year, the IMF boosted its projections of Canada’s economic performance for 2018 and 2019.
Canada’s businesses are being strangled by stringent and often unnecessary regulation, a new report from the Canadian Federation of Independent Business says.
Statistics Canada said 12 of 21 industries, representing 81 per cent of the manufacturing sector, gained ground in November. Manufacturing sales volumes rose 2.5 per cent for the month after higher petroleum prices and other price changes were removed.
The Italian-American automaker will invest US$1 billion in its Warren, Michigan truck assembly plant to make the Ram Heavy Duty Truck starting in 2020.
A Conference Board of Canada report predicts that dwindling demand in the U.S., reduced interest in vehicle ownership by American millennials, and the aging of baby boomers will result in a decline in Canadian automotive exports over the next five years.
U.S. purchases continue to exceed expectations, keeping full-year 2017 sales above 17 million units for a record third consecutive year, the bank also said.
