Latest service suppliers/supply chain news and analysis articles 
The automotive manufacturing chain that stretches from raw materials providers to small parts suppliers (Tier 3s and Tier 2s) to the big suppliers (Tier 1s and systems integrators) and OEMs; includes automotive logistics
SWEDEN: Volvo identifies Saab machinery as "interesting"
8 February 2012
Volvo says it has "identified" machinery and test equipment at Saab that could prove "interesting," although any purchase is dependent on receivers deciding to sell the defunct company in part rather than one entity.
INDIA: Lanxess opens SCP and rubber additive plant, Rhein Chemie relocates
8 February 2012
The western Indian state of Gujarat is fast emerging as the next major auto hub in India, attracting global OEMs and supporting industries setting up facilities to cater to the fastest growing automobile market in the world.
FRANCE: Faurecia posts record 2011 results
8 February 2012
Faurecia has reported fiscal 2011 net income up 84% to EUR371m (US$493m), with sales increasing 17.4% to EUR16.19bn.
BELGIUM: GM could still have say with Youngman Saab 9-3 plan: CLEPA
6 February 2012
European automotive supplier body CLEPA, is cautioning General Motors could still be involved if prospective Saab bidder, Youngman, starts up production using the 9-3 model.
GERMANY: Schaeffler places US$2bn bonds in capital markets
6 February 2012
Schaeffler says it has successfully placed EUR2bn (US$2.6bn) of bonds in the international capital markets, with the issue oversubscribed by around five times.
BELGIUM: CLEPA cautions Saab receivers not to sell assets to pay huge lawyer army
3 February 2012
Europe's automotive supplier body CLEPA, is urging Saab receivers not to sell off the bankrupt automaker piecemeal in order to pay a vast army of lawyers.
JAPAN: Yazaki secures DoJ deal to pay US$470m price-fixing fine in five tranches
1 February 2012
Japanese component supplier Yazaki says it will pay off its gargantuan price-fixing fine in five installments starting this year.
JAPAN: Yazaki top two return salaries as DoJ stuns with US$470m price-fixing fine
1 February 2012
Yazaki's chairman and president will return half of their salaries for three months in response to the US Department of Justice's (DoJ) enormous price-fixing fine.
JAPAN: Denso pays US$78m as DoJ imposes massive cartel fines
1 February 2012
Denso has concluded a plea agreement with the US Department of Justice (DoJ) and will pay a fine of US$78m based on charges it violated anti-trust laws in connection with sales of certain automotive components, specifically, certain body electronic control units and heater control panels to one of its customers.
US: "Pernicious cartel" sees Yazaki and Denso pay huge price-fixing fine
31 January 2012
Two Japanese suppliers of automotive electrical components -Yazaki and Denso -have agreed to plead guilty and to pay a total of US$548m in criminal fines for their involvement in multiple price-fixing and bid-rigging conspiracies in the sale of parts to automobile manufacturers in the US, the Department of Justice has announced.
SWEDEN: Debt Office to sit on first Saab Parts board meeting tomorrow
31 January 2012
Sweden's National Debt Office (SNDO) is to sit on the board of Saab Automobile Parts for the first time tomorrow (1 February) as the State looks to secure its loan guarantee repayment.
BELGIUM: Employers body takes aim at "political strike" as country halts
31 January 2012
Belgium's crippling nationwide strike yesterday (30 January) is estimated to have cost around EUR200m, with the automotive sector taking a significant proportion of that hit.
SWEDEN: Debt Office holds fire as receivers seek Saab buyer
30 January 2012
Sweden's National Debt Office (SNDO) says it is co-operating with Saab's receivers to see if a complete sale of the bankrupt automaker can be secured, rather than realising its pledges in the manufacturer.
ITALY: Trucker strike costs Fiat 17,000 lost vehicles
30 January 2012
Fiat estimates production of nearly 17,000 vehicles was lost last week as a result of the mass motorway blockade by Italian lorry drivers, with work only restarting this morning (30 January).
US: Delphi posts FY 2011 net income up 16% to US$1.1bn
30 January 2012
Delphi Automotive has reported full year net income up 16.1% to US$1.1bn, while Q4 2011 revenue was US$3.9bn, an increase of 6.8%, with fourth quarter net income of US$290m.
ITALY: Fiat haemorrhaging 4,000 cars a day as truck blockade continues to bite
27 January 2012
Fiat says it is losing production of more than 4,000 vehicles per day as Italy's devastating industrial action by truck drivers continues to choke the country's supply lines.
JAPAN: Nippon Steel, Toyota agree on steel price cut of around 5%
27 January 2012
Nippon Steel and Toyota Motor have agreed to reduce steel product prices for the October to March period by JPY5,000 (US$64.80) a ton compared with the previous fiscal half year, sources told Kyodo News.
COMMENT: Italy on its knees as Fiat austerity ad airs
26 January 2012
Maybe Sergio Marchionne could be excused a wry smile as he plies the airwaves of the world - at the recent Automotive News World Congress in Detroit the Chrysler/Fiat CEO remarked he spent the equivalent of 42, 24-hour days on aircraft last year - as he digests the current wave of popular unrest sweeping Italy
ITALY: Fiat helpless as huge strike cripples factories
25 January 2012
Four Fiat plants in Italy could remain shut until Friday (25 January) as massive motorway blockades by lorry drivers continue to wreak havoc with component delivery.
GERMANY: Bosch posts preliminary 2011 revenue up 8.8% to US$66.bn.
25 January 2012
Preliminary figures from Bosch show the technology and services company generated sales revenue of EUR51.4bn (US$66.6bn) in 2011, up 8.8% compared to 2010.
ITALY: Mass lorry blockade sees Fiat plants shut and fuel shortages
24 January 2012
Nationwide industrial action by Italian lorry drivers has thrown Fiat production into chaos as motorway blockades stop component deliveries.
UK: just-auto surveys the global auto industry
24 January 2012
just-auto has launched its latest annual survey of the auto industry to identify key trends and forecasts for the year ahead.
FRANCE: Aluminium union waiting on Renault cylinder head work decision
24 January 2012
Renault is still to decide whether or not to grant a union request at the Fonderie du Poitou Aluminium (FPA) to increase cylinder head production to up to 1m units per year.
RUSSIA: Logistics firm WWL opens new Moscow office
24 January 2012
Wallenius Wilhelmsen Logistics has opened a new office in Moscow in addition to its current St Petersburg facility to support its growing business in Russia.
SWEDEN: Improved Norway links to help jobless Saab workers
23 January 2012
Swedish regional government is to inject SEK90m (US$13.4m) into the area around bankrupt Saab's home town of Trollhattan, with help given to those made unemployed by the automaker's demise to travel to Norway to seek work.
SWEDEN: Youngman could make Saab bid within weeks: FKG
23 January 2012
Scandinavian supplier body FKG says a bid for bankrupt Saab by Chinese manufacturer Youngman, could occur within weeks.
TURKEY: Brightwell "not interested in stripping" Saab
20 January 2012
Turkish private equity company, Brightwell Holdings, says it is not interested in stripping Saab's assets and intends to keep most of the automaker functioning in Sweden, should its bid for the bankrupt manufacturer succeed.
TURKEY: Brightwell maintains Youngman is "jumping the gun" in Saab bid
20 January 2012
Potential bidder for bankrupt Saab, Brightwell Holdings, says Chinese manufacturer Youngman may be "jumping the gun," when it comes to putting in an offer for the Swedish automaker.
SWEDEN: Saab State salary pot near empty as delegation starts China visit
19 January 2012
Bankrupt Saab's main white collar labour body Unionen, says its members have around one and half months salary left before the State guarantee runs out
COMMENT: Radio silence from Saab receivers as CLEPA acts
19 January 2012
Just why aren't Saab's receivers on today's (19 January) trip to China as a high-powered delegation seeks to salvage something from the wreckage of the automaker's recent bankruptcy?
