Page 9 - MetalForming Magazine February 2023 - Metal Forming for the Automotive Industry

News Fronts
Automotive-OEM Profit Margins
Continue to Exceed Those of their Suppliers, but the Gap is Shrinking
Automakers’ profit margins were nearly 3 percent- age points higher than suppliers’ in the third quarter, according to a recent study from Bain & Co. “For two decades leading up to 2019, automotive suppliers’ EBIT margins were on average 1 to 2 percentage points higher than those of OEMs,” the report notes. “Then came massive supply-chain disruptions with the Covid-19 pandemic and global chip shortage, plus higher raw-material and energy prices, and now rising borrowing costs and wage bills due to inflation. Auto- motive OEMs were able to ride out the supply shortage by focusing production on the highest-margin models and raising prices, but suppliers had no such strategic options.
“Nevertheless, the margin gap between OEMs and suppliers shrank in the third quarter,” the report contin- ues. “It marked the third straight quarterly margin decline for OEMs after the peak in the fourth quarter of 2021. Meanwhile, in the third quarter suppliers had their first meaningful uptick in margin since the fourth quarter of 2020... Despite high OEM profitability in 2022, the eas- ing of supply-chain challenges and worsening global eco- nomic situation—including potential recession—signal that a further reduction of OEM margins is likely in 2023. To prepare for this potential ‘hurricane’ of external pres- sures on margins, OEMs would be wise to increase the resilience of their business models by maintaining high prices and enacting more extensive cost-reduction meas- ures to compensate for expected increases in their costs.”
U.S. Loses Trade Dispute with Canada, Mexico Over Parts Sourcing
The United States has lost an automotive trade dis- pute brought against it by Canada and Mexico over parts- sourcing requirements. While a dispute panel made its ruling near the end of 2022, the decision wasn’t made public until January 11, 2023.
Per CBT News, “according to an agreement between the three countries, to qualify for tax-free status in the United States, three-fourths of a vehicle’s components must be manufactured domestically. The trade dispute arose over how the number is calculated. Canada and Mexico argued that the treaty allowed for this number to be rounded up on a ‘core part’ basis. In other words, if 75 percent of a vehicle’s engine were built in America, authorities could round this up to 100 percent before cal- culating the overall sourcing of the vehicle. The United States disagreed, arguing that the method would misrep- resent components sourcing and negatively impact Amer- ican jobs.”
Autonomous Mobile Robots
Increase Efficiency, Improve Morale at Denso
The Denso 800,000-sq.-ft. powertrain-component production facility in Athens, TN, has deployed six MiR250 autonomous mobile robots (AMRs) to transport materials. The firm also has the robots, from Mobile Industrial Robots A/S, operating in two other U.S. locations, as well as three facilities in Europe and two in Asia.
According to Denso logistics and automation engineer Travis Olinger, the company prefers AMRs over automated guided vehicles because AMRs can navigate on their own with quick mapping and quick changes without the need for a costly infrastructure built into the facilities’ floor.
Olinger adds that the MiR250 robots were particularly compelling because of their 2 m/sec. speed, their 550-lb. payload capacity, and the ability to navigate narrow spaces. Using the robots at the Athens plant frees employees from having to walk as much as 12 mi./day moving material between production areas and the warehouse and has allowed six workers to transition to more value-added work.
German Robotics Company Coming to Georgia
Becker Robotic Equipment, headquartered in Dülmen, Germany, and a global supplier of robotic equipment and automated systems for the automotive industry, announced plans to build a $30-million manufactur- ing facility in The Bluffs Technology Park in Canton, GA, just outside of Atlanta. The new facility will be the North American headquarters for the firm, founded in 1993 with the aim of supplying accessories and inte- grated automated systems, primarily for the automotive industry.
Renault Group Partners with Airbus to Make Better Batteries
Airbus and Renault Group have signed a research and development agreement aimed at accelerating both companies’ electrification roadmaps. As part of the partnership, the companies’ engineering teams will join forces to mature technologies related to energy storage and aid in the development of long-range electric vehicles (EVs). On the table: energy-management optimization and battery-weight improve- ment and developing pathways to move from current cell chemistries (advanced lithium-ion) to all solid-state designs, which could double the energy density of batteries in the 2030 timeframe, say Renault Group officials.
The joint work also will study the full lifecycle of future batteries, from production to recyclability, assessing their carbon footprint across their entire lifecycle.
Cleveland-Cliffs Introduces
Motor-Max Non-Oriented Electrical Steels
Cleveland-Cliffs has debuted the Motor-Max line of non-oriented elec- trical steels, designed for use in high-frequency motors and generators. The high frequency non-oriented electrical steels (HF NOES) are designed for high-speed motors operating at frequencies above 60 Hz, EV traction motors, aircraft generators and other rotating equipment.
The steels, available in a wide range of fully processed grades includ- ing 25HF1550, 25HF1300, 27HF1500 and 30HF1600, exhibit low core loss and are energy-efficient at high operating frequencies, say company officials.
6 MetalForming/February 2023
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