CARFCO

Ford has surprised Wall Street after reporting a $2.6 billion profit in the second-quarter of the year, earning shareholders 61 cents per share, which beats the forecast 40 cents.  Ford’s American sales climbed 28 per cent since the beginning of the year, almost doubling that of its competitors. However, Ford has forecast a decline in sales to go hand-in-hand with the predicted weak economy as well as the rising cost of aluminium, along with its seasonal plant closures.

Ford President and Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally,said in a conference call with analysts and media, “Overall, our performance this year gives us great confidence going forward.”

Ford is convinced that the company is making more money due to the global auto-structure where vehicles from around the world share parts. Even though sales in western Europe were down, sales were up significantly in other parts of the world such as Brazil, India, the United States and China.

Mulally also notes, “The global business environment remains challenging, but we expect global growth to continue.” U.S. sales remain low due to economic uncertainty, which is why Ford has lowered its total forecast sales for the year by half a million cars and trucks. They are predicting sales of 11.5 to 12 million for the year. However, shares have remained in good standing, getting a recent boost of 41 cents, up to $12.50 during the early morning of July 23, from fast-paced sales of their F-150 pickup truck and the Ford Fusion Sedan.

Ford has closed the second quarter owning 17.2 per cent of the U.S. market, which is an increase from 16.9 per cent they were at during the end of the first quarter. The second quarter also saw them pay of $7 billion in debt and earn $2.6 billion, increasing shares by 61 cents each. Ford continues to work hard to pay down its debt.

Some automakers are struggling to make a comeback and understand that the slow recovery of the economy plays a large factor in their success, however, as a consumer, it can be a difficult decision whether to buy new or fix the used vehicle you currently drive. If you car or truck is in need of repairs and it is costing a little more than you counted on, perhaps a car repair loan can help. When traditional banks are not an option, private lenders can be. Many cater specifically to clients who have bad credit and even no credit, and offer many types of loans, including car repair loans.

As consumer demands for electric cars increase, so will jobs in green technology. The last five years have seen the auto industry handing out more pink slips than applications and even though it is agreed that the auto industry will most likely never return to its pre-recession employee numbers, the increasing popularity of environmentally friendly vehicles will see some jobs return.

According to information from Des Rosiers Automotive Consultants, in 2001, it there were 199,218 Canadians working in the auto industry. In 2009, a 7 per cent drop to 133,375 was noted and in April of 2010, there were an estimated 123,829 Canadians employed by the industry.

The Electrovaya Mississauga, Ontario plant is currently hiring engineers to help produce the lithium-ion batteries that run these green, eco-machines. Gitanjali DasGupta, manager of Electrovaya’s electric vehicle division says, “Every auto company is looking to green their fleets, to electrify their fleets. (The industry) is truly making a very structural shift. Electrovaya is an enabler of that and one of the key beneficiaries of that.”

Due to high expectations in the demand for green cars, Linamar Corp, which is Canada’s second largest manufacturer of auto parts in Guelph, intends to hire as many as 1,300 people by the end of 2011. Linda Hasenfratz noted in a recent interview that these numbers are the result of the consumer’s demand for the manufacturing of solar energy parts as well as to build more fuel-efficient cars.

Carlos Gomes, automotive economist at Scotiabank feels, “The next generation of jobs in the Canadian auto industry won’t come from the big automakers’ assembly plants, but from suppliers that develop innovative new technologies. I think that is one of the key trends going forward, especially because we now have legislation in place that requires the automakers to improve their overall fuel efficiency,” Gomes said.

The employment boost from the demand in green technologies won’t be felt until around 2015. “Certainly there will be an advantage from green (technology), but that’s not going to be instantaneous. We don’t expect to see massive impacts from green for some time,” says Bill Pochiluk, president of industry research firm AutomotiveCompass.

In April 2010, the Canadian and U.S. governments made a joint announcement regarding the new auto standards which include an increase of 40 per cent on fuel-efficiency and a 25 per cent reduction of greenhouse emissions within the next six years. These new compliances will put a strain on older cars that are still on the road, but putting in some environmentally friendly repairs in an attempt to upkeep is cheaper than altogether replacing your car.