Auto Suppliers Rebounding After Brutal 2009; Optimism Builds; Companies Add More Employees

[Purveyor]

“I don’t know if we’re completely out of the woods, but we feel a lot better about the situation than this time last year,” said Jerry Norsworthy, general manager of the Woodbridge operations in Kansas City.

In fact, Woodbridge also has hired 50 to 70 workers since the beginning of the year. It also is adding a third shift and more employees in response to GM doing the same at a plant.

Several factors kept the industry from imploding at the time of the GM bankruptcy, said Dave Andrea, senior vice president of the equipment suppliers association in Troy.

In a typical bankruptcy reorganization, companies suspend payment to suppliers and other creditors. With the intervention of the federal government and the cooperation of lenders, that wasn’t the case with the GM and Chrysler bankruptcies.

“All the suppliers were paid for all the parts already shipped,” Andrea said.

“In most bankruptcies, suppliers would be lucky to get 20 to 40 cents on the dollar.”

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http://www.lansingstatejournal.com/article/20100322/NEWS03/303220030/1004/news03

[DCBob]

1. So can we do a flashback to all those idiots who said it would be a total waste of money..

to bail out the auto dealers.

[Purveyor]

2. If the reports coming out of GM are correct, they will repay their 'loans' by July.

Also I'm starting to see some life in Chrysler. Seeing new models on the street and they have a newer ad campaign that is impressive.

For now, things feel better. Rising gas prices concern me however with $3+gallon on the horizon.

All bets are off if the US and/or israel start bombing Iran.