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What, No Hurricane Bounce? Ford Idles 5 North American Plants In Wake Of Slumping Car Sales

What, No Hurricane Bounce? Ford Idles 5 North American Plants In Wake Of Slumping Car Sales

Authored by Mike Shedlock via MishTalk.com,

As initially reported by the Census Department, motor vehicle sales were up 1.2% in July following a 0.9% gain in June. At the time, I commented, “This is unbelievably bizarre in the face of actual auto sales reports.”

The Census Bureau revised sales estimates much lower in September as noted in Retail Sales Unexpectedly Decline, Huge Negative Revisions in June and July: Reflections on “Bizarre” Sales Reports.

Remember When Ford 'Cancelled' That Plant In Mexico? Well, They've Just Moved It To China

Remember When Ford 'Cancelled' That Plant In Mexico? Well, They've Just Moved It To China

Back in January, Trump took a very public victory lap when Ford decided to scrap plans to build a $1.6 billion manufacturing facility in Mexico and invest in its Michigan facilities instead (we discussed it here: Trump Takes Victory Lap After Ford Cancels $1.6 Billion Mexican Expansion Plan As "Vote Of Confidence" In President-Elect).

NBC Reporter "Fact Checks" Trump's Job Creation Claims and Destroys You in the Process

Jane Timm from NBC was working very diligently today, on International Women's Day of all days, in order to set the record straight for you Trumpsters out there who believe that he's done anything at all on the jobs front (note: ADP said 298k new jobs were created in America for the month of February, far exceeding the forecast of 190k).
 

Trump Takes Victory Lap After Ford Cancels $1.6 Billion Mexican Expansion Plan As "Vote Of Confidence" In President-Elect

Trump Takes Victory Lap After Ford Cancels $1.6 Billion Mexican Expansion Plan As "Vote Of Confidence" In President-Elect

Update: sure enough, here comes Trump's twitter victory lap:

 

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Is The Auto Industry Slowdown Signaling Trouble Ahead For The Overall Economy

Is The Auto Industry Slowdown Signaling Trouble Ahead For The Overall Economy

While it's not as applicable today, there used to be a saying that "as goes GM, so goes the economy."  While the "Big 3" aren't quite as big as they used to be, they still offer vital clues about the overall economic health of the United States.  Unfortunately for anyone who has been paying attention, those "vital clues" are all flashing red warning signs as each passing day seems to bring more news of idled plants and/or shift reductions (see here and here).  Of course, rising interest rates, tightening credit, softening used car prices and rising subprime auto delinquenci