Mechanical Industry News
Financing options play key role in manufacturing industry, NCTO
Testifying before the U.S. House Small Business Committee, NCTO President Cass Johnson urged committee members to expand Small Business Administration (SBA) loan programs to aid manufacturers in gaining access to credit, working capital and loan guarantees to produce products for export. Johnson explained that financing options play a pivotal role in the textile industry’s ability to manufacture products and export to customers outside the United States.
Annual new vehicle sales up for first time in 16 months
Annual new vehicle sales have risen for the first time in 16 months, in a further sign that the economy is on the recovery path. Sales of passenger cars, sports utility vehicles (SUV) and commercial vehicles rose 2.2 per cent to 80,813 in October from the same month last year, data from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) shows. It was the first time since June 2008 that sales have increased from the year before. "This was a good solid monthly result with the welcome return of private, business and rental buyers in larger numbers," FCAI chief executive Andrew McKellar said in a statement on Thursday.
Exports looking set to remain a drag on growth of GDP
Despite all the talk of an economic rebound, the run of data released so far this month suggests that growth in the September quarter was subdued. Following on from Wednesday's soft retail sales data for the September quarter, Thursday's monthly international trade report suggests exports will again be a drag on growth domestic product (GDP) when the national accounts are released next month. Treasurer Wayne Swan reiterated that the economy will operate below capacity for some time despite this week's mid-year budget review forecasting a rosier outlook than predicted in May.
Airbus ‘Confident’ Ahead Of WTO Ruling
The head of Airbus' parent company said Thursday he's "very confident" in the European plane maker's case before the World Trade Organization, due to rule on a complaint that Airbus has benefited from illegal subsidies. Boeing and Airbus expect to find out on Friday who won the first round in their epic trade dispute, when the WTO rules on a five-year-old U.S. complaint that argues European governments unfairly financed Airbus' climb to become the world's No. 1 planemaker.
The Canadian economy contracted at a 3.4 percent annual pace in the second quarter, an improvement from the first three months of the year, the government said Monday. Statistics Canada said the economy actually grew in June by 0.1 percent, the first monthly increase in almost a year. Canada's central bank and many analysts think the economy is starting to grow again in the current quarter. The 3.4 percent drop in gross domestic product for the April-to-June period follows the biggest drop on record in the first three months of this year.
General Motors Co.'s Venezuela affiliate announced plans Wednesday to reopen a car assembly plant that has been closed for almost three months. GM's president in Venezuela, Ronaldo Znidarsis, said General Motors plans to restart production at its plant in Carabobo state because President Hugo Chavez's government has agreed to sell the company the U.S. dollars it needs to import car parts.
The world economy is headed for an earlier recovery than previously forecast, although the pace of the rebound will likely remain modest for some time to come, the OECD said Thursday. The Paris-based watchdog of industrialized nations said recessions this year in Japan and the euro zone will be less severe than the organization forecast in June, while the outlook for the U.S. is stable. Presenting the interim outlook at a news conference in Paris, the OECD's top economist, Jorgen Elmeskov, cited improving financial conditions, a rebound in trade and an end to inventory destocking by industry as factors pointing to faster economic recovery in the OECD's 30 member countries.