For those who build parts for the energy sector, this means bigger equipment than ever before and demands for incred- ible precision in, say, threading in fracking tubes or blowout preventers used in deep-sea extraction. And it may mean more independent quality tests of products than ever before as regulators push tight rules to prevent accidents.
Motorized Vehicles Slowly and steadily, the US auto industry has been crawl- ing out of the sales crater caused by the Great Recession. Americans purchased 14.5 million light vehicles in 2012, a gain of 13% over 2011. That represents consistent growth from the 27-year low of 10.4 million vehicles in 2009. About 52% of the sales in 2012 were of passenger cars, versus 48% for light trucks. And there’s a push to in- crease exports of US autos, too, a key part of the US strategy to increase exports, according to an International Trade Commission report. More than a
MOTORIZED VEHICLE 2012-2013
MANUFACTURING Supplement to Manufacturing Engineering
decade of restructur- ing, including the bankruptcies of GM and Chrysler, left the Detroit Three automakers with
significantly lighter cost structures that have boosted their profits as the sales have grown. In fact, the 2010-2012 pe- riod may be the most profitable two-year stretch for Detroit in decades.
Meanwhile, a trend in near-shoring, or building products more closely to where they are sold, continues to bring more foreign automakers and suppliers to the US. Much of this manufacturing growth has been concentrated along the north-south highways linking manufacturing centers such as Detroit and Chicago to Nashville and Birmingham, AL. In fact, there’s even talk, because of the strong bounce- back in sales, that automakers are now capacity-constrained, although companies are being very cautious in assessing whether to add back manufacturing capacity they cut in the period leading into the Great Recession.
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ManufacturingEngineeringMedia.com | April 2013
Meanwhile, new technologies remain on the horizon in the automotive industry, although implementation has been slow for a variety of reasons, such as regulation on the OEM side and price on the consumer side. While much buzz has surrounded hybrids and electric vehicles, adoption has remained slow, causing many experts to stand by the assertion that gains in fuel economy will come primary from lightweighting and improvements in the traditional internal combustion engine.
US Light Vehicle Sales
20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10
2012 2011 2010 2009 2008 2007 Year
Consumers continue to buy more cars in America, and sales are quickly approaching pre-recession levels.
Carbon fiber and other composites hold promise as automakers look to make their vehicle structures lighter to meet upcoming CAFE standards, but still strong enough to earn five-star safety ratings and still large enough to satisfy consumers. The steel and aluminum industries have been fighting on this front for years. Other lightweight metals for components (suspension, engine, brakes) are also being investigated. Greater use of plastics in unexpected places is also possible.
Medical
The growth rate for the medical device market has been high but is expected to slow down in the face of a number of new hurdles and despite an aging population that will presum- ably need more products.
Among the challenges facing the sector: • The 2.3% medical device tax that went into effect on Jan. 1, which is expected to cost the industry $20 bil- lion over the next decade;
Millions (000)
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