ECONOMY: “After a prolonged recovery that culminated in two years of record sales, the American auto industry is slowing down, with fewer buyers in dealer showrooms and fewer workers on the factory floor.
Automakers said this week that sales dropped in June for a sixth consecutive month, falling by 3 percent from a year ago, a trend that analysts do not see letting up anytime soon. And as demand falls, there is less work in the nation’s auto-assembly plants — primarily those that build traditional passenger cars.
Last year, those plants hit a peak of 211,000 workers, a 55 percent increase since the depths of the recession in 2009. That figure has dropped by more than 2 percent so far this year, to 206,000 workers in April, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and could shrink further as sales continue to fall…
The decline signals at least a pause in Detroit’s resurgence from the dark days of the financial crisis, which General Motors and Chrysler survived only through bankruptcy and bailouts. It’s happening despite President Trump’s promises to pressure automakers to save and create good-paying American factory jobs.
Industry analysts said consumers might be pulling back on spending because of tighter credit conditions and more expensive vehicle loans. “Higher interest rates and uncertainty around fiscal policies will slow economic growth, and may become headwinds for auto sales,” said Charlie Chesbrough, an economist for the research firm Cox Automotive.”
-Bill Vlasic, “After Years of Growth, Automakers Are Cutting U.S. Jobs,” The New York Times online, July 4, 2017