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Daimler is seeking an $11 billion line of credit (credit line) in order to weather the crisis (and Toyota $9 billion). Some of the big boys are in trouble.

Ted, I sez MAN builds a good truck.

Commercial Motor / February 12, 2020 Is MAN’s new TGX genuinely new, or a facelift of a 20-year old cab? .

Scania Group Press Release / March 25, 2020 Transport is like the the bloodstream of our society. That also becomes clear in times of crises. Without transport we will not get food and other necessities to our stores, or medicine and medical equipment to our hospitals and pharmacies. Waste and recycling will not be transported out of our cities. And without public transport, it would be much more difficult for doctors, nurses and caretakers to reach and look after the sick and the elderly. I want to extend a big thank you to the hard working heroes in transport and acknowledge the drivers, mechanics, spare parts handlers and loaders working to keep trucks and buses on the roads. Henrik Henriksson President & CEO - Scania Group .

GM cuts white-collar salaries 20%, furloughs 6,500 in U.S. Hannah Lutz, Automotive News / March 26, 2020 DETROIT — General Motors is freezing work on some vehicle programs and will temporarily reduce paychecks for all salaried employees globally by 20 percent to conserve cash as it weathers the coronavirus outbreak. But the automaker is promising to make up for the lost income within a year. In addition, 6,500 salaried workers in the U.S. — mostly people in engineering and manufacturing functions who cannot work remotely — will be placed on leave and receive 75 percent of regular pay during the downtime. General Motors CEO Mary Barra and CFO Dhivya Suryadevara told employees on Thursday the company needed to take immediate aggressive steps to cut costs. Suryadevara warned "if we don’t take significant austerity measures we will do serious damage to the long-term viability of our company." Suryadevara noted that GM has very little revenue coming in “and we are preparing to operate the company temporarily on credit if necessary." In an email to employees on Thursday, Barra said GM for years has been making "difficult decisions to strengthen our business and make it more resilient," and now those moves "will be put to the test," Reuters reported. Barra told employees the largest U.S. automaker is "aggressively taking costs out of the business wherever we can by suspending work on some product programs and cutting our marketing budgets and hundreds more actions." While some vehicles under development will be delayed, models close to launch such as the redesigned Chevrolet Tahoe, GMC Yukon and Cadillac Escalade large SUVs will go on sale later this year as scheduled. The company is also sparing a Cadillac electric SUV and Cruise Origin self-driving vehicle from delays. "GM's business and its balance sheet was very strong before the COVID-19 outbreak and the steps we are taking now will help ensure that we can regain our momentum as quickly as possible after this crisis is over," the company said Thursday. The pay deferments will start April 1 and potentially could last about six months, GM spokesman Jim Cain said. Employees will receive lost earnings in a lump-sum payment no later than March 15, 2021, GM said. The move will result in "significant" immediate cash savings, but GM declined to be more specific. The company has about 69,000 salaried employees, or about 42 percent of its global work force. Executives will see deeper pay cuts on top of the unilateral 20 percent deferment, resulting in a total reduction during the crisis of 30 percent for senior leadership and 25 percent for other executives. Pay for members of GM's board of directors will be cut 20 percent and not repaid. Employees' health care benefits will not be affected.

Bill Ford to defer salary amid coronavirus pandemic Michael Martinez, Automotive News / March 26, 2020 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford will defer 100 percent of his salary for at least the next five months and other top executives will defer up to half of their pay as the automaker looks to conserve cash amid the coronavirus pandemic. In a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the company said CEO Jim Hackett, COO Jim Farley and CFO Tim Stone will defer 50 percent of their salaries, effective May 1. Bill Ford's deferment also is effective as of that date. The accumulated deferred salary amounts will be paid after the company has repaid at least $7 billion of the $15.4 billion credit lines it tapped earlier this month. Hackett, in a letter to Ford employees, said the company's top 300 executives will defer 20 to 50 percent of their pay. "The character of people and organizations is revealed in difficult times," Hackett wrote. "I'm extremely proud of how Ford is keeping our people safe, doing our part to limit the spread of the virus, taking care of customers and managing through the crisis in ways that safeguard our work force, our business and our partners." Bill Ford earned a $1.7 million base salary in 2018, according to the automaker’s latest proxy filing. Hackett collected a $1.8 million base salary over that same period. Farley’s base salary recently rose to $1.4 million when he was named COO effective March 1. 'Tougher actions' Hackett, in the letter, said Ford intended to get through the pandemic without any job losses, although he noted that it may have to “take tougher actions” if the situation lasts longer than anticipated. Additionally, Hackett said Ford will begin deferring merit-based salary increases, suspending overtime for salaried workers and freezing hiring for “noncritical skill positions.” He said work schedules and pay might be “temporarily reduced” for workers whose jobs can’t be done from home and that others may be offered voluntary sabbaticals. Hackett said the company would continue to provide health insurance and paid time off to cover a 14-day quarantine if workers are exposed to the virus.

Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin on Thursday said the historic jump in jobless claims today to 3.28 million was not a piece of economic data to focus on because it was for a period before government relief was assured. "To be honest with you, I just think these numbers right now are not relevant, whether they are bigger or smaller in the short-term," says Mnuchin said. With the Senate coronavirus relief bill now so close to passage in the House, Mnuchin hopes that firms start to rehire these workers. As late as last week businesses didn't have another choice except let workers go because they didn't have cash and didn't know that protections would be forthcoming, Mnuchin said. .

This is too spot on not to interest a few. Sylvia Browne, a psychic who claimed she started receiving premonitions at age 5. She died in 2013. In 2008 at age 71 she published a book with this prediction: "In around 2020, a severe pneumonia-like illness will spread throughout the globe, attacking the lungs and the bronchial tubes and resisting all known treatments. Almost more baffling than the illness itself will be the fact that it will suddenly vanish as quickly as it arrived, attack again ten years later, and then disappear completely." The book is called "End of Days: Predictions and Prophecies About the End of the World" and has shot up to No. 2 on Amazon's nonfiction chart. .

Ford credit downgraded to junk by S&P Bloomberg / March 25, 2020 Ford Motor Co. was cut to junk by S&P Global Ratings as the coronavirus pandemic delivers a shock to the global auto industry, rendering the No. 2 U.S. automaker the largest fallen angel to date. S&P downgraded Ford’s credit rating one notch to BB+ and may cut it further, according to a statement Wednesday. The move follows Moody’s Investors Service, which dropped its rating Ford for the second time in sixth months earlier Wednesday. With Ford’s factories shut around the globe -- including all North American plants -- and no decision as to when they’ll resume production, the automaker is under immense financial pressure, according to S&P. “The stress of having all of a company’s plants shut down differs from that of a conventional recessionary downturn,” the agency said, noting that the shutdowns mean Ford isn’t generating revenue to cover costs. “The rate of cash burn, even for a few months, could be faster than that which transpires during a typical recession.” S&P also placed General Motors on credit watch late Wednesday. The agency indicated there is at least a 50 percent chance it will lower GM's credit rating by one notch if the company's plants "remain idle for longer than we expect, causing its cash flow generation to turn negative, eroding its liquidity, and increasing its debt leverage with no signs of an imminent improvement." Moody's also warned it was considering cutting GM to junk as it faces sharply lower demand. "A severe disruption in automotive demand due to the coronavirus, combined with the possibility of a follow-on economic recession, will place considerable pressure on GM's cash flow and credit metrics," Moody's said. Because the spreading coronavirus has idled plants, prompted mass layoffs and curbed demand for big-ticket purchases across the globe, light-vehicle sales will decline by 15-20 percent in the U.S. and Europe, and by 8-10 percent in China, this year, S&P said. Ford is one of many auto companies facing what Moody’s calls an unprecedented “credit shock,” with the coronavirus outbreak also posing a major threat to peers including GM and Volkswagen Group. But Ford is particularly at risk because of the problems it’s been having with executing an $11 billion restructuring that’s yet to improve performance. The cost to protect Ford’s debt against default for five years has soared this month more than fourfold, though it’s come down this week. Its bonds due 2025 trade around 78 cents on the dollar. “Ford is managing through the coronavirus crisis in a way that safeguards our business, our workforce, our customers and our dealers,” the company said in an emailed statement. “We plan to emerge from this crisis as a stronger company.”

There used to be one parked off I-83 around York, Pennsylvania. Always wondered what happened to it.

My memory is: 6MF530M - upper right 6MF531M - upper left 6MF532M - lower right 6MF533M - lower left 6MF534m - center upper 6MF535M - center lower

The universally despised CNN is reporting the bill includes: $324 million for the State Department, PLUS more money specifically for "evacuation expenses." The proposed legislation doesn't specify who would be evacuated, whether it's US diplomats or American citizens living overseas, or both. $88 million for the Peace Corps $324 million for diplomatic programs $258 million for international disaster assistance $350 million for migration and refugee assistance $95 million for USAID operating expenses Mr/Ms Taxpayer will pay $32 billion in grants for airline employee wages and benefits (grants - free money that doesn't get paid back).

Paul, I'm thinking this is the Pelosi wished-for bill, not the final outcome. I read the text hasn't been released yet. What's the link to that info? On a side note, I imagine preferential recipients Boeing and the airlines are thrilled. Note that Wall Street is not. Wait 2 to 3 weeks from now when oil tanks down to the low teens, and virus is peaking in the US. Markets and the economy will be reeling. And finally, this package is not going to stop the recession that is coming.

Already $23 trillion in debt, I suppose another $2 trillion doesn't matter. However, the American taxpayer does deserve a detailed ledger of exactly how that money is intended to be spent, and end confirmation of how it was spent. But good luck with that.

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Ford to keep North American plants shuttered beyond March 30 Michael Martinez, Automotive News / March 24, 2020 DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday said its North American manufacturing facilities will remain closed beyond March 30, the date it originally planned to restart production, as the coronavirus pandemic continues to spread. The automaker last week, following pressure from the UAW, agreed with General Motors and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles to shutter plants in the U.S., Mexico and Canada for more than a week until March 30. Since that decision, a number of U.S. states where Ford has plants, including Michigan, have issued orders for residents to stay at home unless they work in essential fields. The automaker did not offer a time frame for when its plants might reopen. Michigan and at least 15 other U.S. states, along with Ontario, Canada, have instituted stay-at-home orders. In Michigan, the order extends until April 13. "We are assessing various options and working with union leaders — including the United Auto Workers and Unifor — on the optimal timing for resuming vehicle production, keeping the well-being of our work force top of mind," Kumar Galhotra, Ford's president of North America, said in a statement. General Motors is standing by its plan to suspend production until at least March 30, spokesman David Barnas said. "Production status will be reevaluated week to week after that," he said. Fiat Chrysler Automobiles has not yet made a decision about whether the shutdown would need to be extended past the end of March. Ford CEO Jim Hackett, speaking Tuesday on the "CBS This Morning" show, said the automaker was focused on making sure its workers remain healthy. "What we're trying to do is get through this quarantine period where everyone has a job and then, on the other side, quickly rebuild demand," he said. "We're working really closely with the UAW and there's an agreement that when it's time to go back to work, everyone's going to go back to work." Hackett said he thinks the situation could last into early May. "We can see what happened in China, we see what happened in South Korea and I'm hopeful we get started before then," he said. "We're ready to go."

Cummins to Offer 18-Speed Endurant Transmission as X15 Engine Option Heavy Duty Trucking (HDT) / March 24, 2020 Cummins will offer an 18-speed version of its Endurant automated transmission as an option or X15 diesel engines beginning next year. Cummins said it has developed what it called the “next-generation of integrated power” for high-horsepower applications – an Endurant XD 18-speed transmission option for its X15 Performance Series engines, beginning in 2021. The X15 Performance Series and Endurant XD powertrain is optimized for high gross combined weight on-highway and severe on and off highway applications such as dump and logging trucks, with full application coverage to be announced at a later date, according to Cummins. Available starting in 2021, the Cummins X15 and Endurant XD is currently going through extensive field tests and validation. “The newest integrated powertrain from Eaton Cummins Automated Transmissions Technologies delivers a versatile powertrain, gives professional operators tailored configurations that meet their needs, and allows the newest drivers to simply get in and go,” said J. Michael Taylor, general manager, global powertrain integration, Cummins. “The Eaton Cummins Automated Transmissions Technologies develops products with the proven process of deeply integrated customer councils, which provides key insights, input, and feedback.” The Endurant XD automated transmission features 18 forward speeds and up to six reverse speeds. A high-capacity bottom 8-bolt and rear power take-off provisions are offered as standard equipment, providing customers with flexibility for final equipment design and the ability to power necessary accessories. A transmission oil cooler provision is available when required. When combined with the X15 Performance Series, the toughest applications and duty cycles can now benefit from a truly integrated automated powertrain. With the strongest engine brake in the industry, the new 18-speed powertrain will reduce the amount of stress placed on service brakes.

Ehingen, Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ehingen https://www.liebherr.com/en/usa/about-liebherr/liebherr-worldwide/germany/ehingen/liebherr-in-ehingen.html .

MarketWatch / March 24, 2020 Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a blistering assessment of Washington’s handling of the coronavirus pandemic Tuesday — with over 25,000 New Yorkers now ill, more than 200 dead and the sickness’s spread accelerating like a “bullet train.” “The president said it’s a war,” said a visibly angered Cuomo in a press briefing. “Well, then, act like it’s a war!” Cuomo’s anger boiled over as he spoke at Manhattan’s Javits Center, which is in the process of being converted to a 2,000-bed hospital complex to fight a flood of cases that now stands at 25,665 in the state — with 210 dead — and 14,904 in the city. The governor accused President Trump, Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar and the Federal Emergency Management Agency of largely leaving New York to fend for itself. “People say, politicians say. I look at actions, not words,” fumed Cuomo. “They’re doing the supplies? Here’s my question. Where are they?” At the top of Cuomo’s list of grievances was the mere 400 ventilators that FEMA has committed to sending the city — a fraction of the 30,000 that he says the state will require when the contagion hits with its full force. “You want a pat on the back for sending 400 ventilators?” asked Cuomo. “What are we going to do with 400 ventilators? “You pick the 26,000 people who are going to die,” said Cuomo — so incensed that he misstated the 29,600 New Yorkers who would actually be left without the life-saving equipment. Cuomo invoked his most dire terms yet with the worst of the plague bearing down with increasing speed, and now as little as two weeks away. “We’re not slowing it, and it is accelerating on its own,” said Cuomo, noting that number of cases in New York is now doubling every three days. “The [disease] forecaster said to me, ‘We were looking at a freight train coming across the country,’” Cuomo related. “‘We’re now looking at a bullet train.’” The rate has led experts to project an eventual peak demand of 140,000 hospital beds — up from the 110,000 that Cuomo had previously predicted. The state has only about 53,000 permanent hospital beds. The increased rate also led Cuomo to project that the worst could hit in as little as two weeks. “It accelerates the apex, to a point where it could be as close as 14 to 21 days,” he said. “The apex is higher than we thought, and the apex is sooner than we thought.” With the worst still ahead, Cuomo balked at Trump’s suggestion that America abandon social-distancing and restart its economy sooner rather than later. “This is unsustainable, that we close down the economy and we continue to spend money,” he acknowledged. “But if you ask the American people to choose between public health and the economy, then it’s no contest. “No American is going to say, ‘Accelerate the economy at the cost of human life.’ “What is this, some modern Darwinian theory of natural selection?” asked Cuomo. “If you can’t keep up, then you just fall be the wayside of life? God forbid.” . .

A transverse torque rod (1RY48P23 or equivalent 1RY351P11 - 2 different vendors of same) was not originally deemed necessary for on-road highway models with 38k suspensions. It simply isn't necessary, like it is for vocational. That said, we wrote a service bulletin outlining how to add a transverse torque rod if desired. It obviously will extend the life of the trunnion insulators. You need a 44RU11192 spacer plate behind the frame-mounted bracket with single frame trucks. Always apply 20 weight non-detergent motor oil, per the Mack service bulletin on the subject, when installing Mack trunnion insulators.

Reuters / March 24, 2020 DETROIT — General Motors and medical equipment maker Ventec are speeding up efforts under a partnership code-named "Project V" to build ventilators at a GM plant in Kokomo, Indiana, to help combat the coronavirus outbreak. GM said on Monday that work at its Indiana plant, which makes small electronic components for cars, is part of the effort to expand ventilator production. The GM-Ventec project is known internally as "Project V." As part of the effort to boost ventilator output from Ventec, of Bothell, Washington, GM has arranged for the supply of 95% of the parts needed to build the ventilator and is seeking to source the remaining 37 necessary parts. The goal of the venture is to build up to 200,000 ventilators. "Ventec Life Systems and General Motors have been working around the clock to implement plans to build more critical care ventilators," GM spokesman Dan Flores said on Monday. "With GM’s support, Ventec is now planning exponentially higher ventilator production as fast as possible. "As part of those efforts, GM is exploring the feasibility to build ventilators for Ventec at a GM facility in Kokomo, Indiana," he added. First parts need to be delivered by suppliers to GM by April 6. Supplier production could begin within the next 2-3 weeks. Creative Foam Corp in Fenton, Michigan, is one of the auto suppliers joining the effort. It already had a division serving the healthcare sector. Creative Foam will start making foam parts for the ventilators' air filtration system this week, CEO Phil Fioravante said. "We already have installed capacity, so we're just repurposing it and utilizing it for this end." In Minneapolis, auto supplier Twin City Die Castings Co, which had signed a contract to supply Ventec about nine months ago, quickly amped up its plans, CEO Todd Olson said. It makes aluminum and magnesium parts for the ventilator compressor and housing. Now Twin City is converting the parts it was making into die casts for higher-volume production as the volume target has gone from making parts for 150 ventilators a month to as many as 20,000. Such a conversion would normally have taken 12 weeks to complete, Olson said, but is being done in one week as employees work almost nonstop. In addition, Twin City and rivals are sharing intellectual property to speed the process. "Luckily, we had a nice jump on this," Olson said.

SVT NYHETR / March 23, 2020 Truck manufacturer Scania has sent production and logistics personnel to medical equipment company Getinge to help it rapidly increase its production of ventilators. "We need to help us," says Scania's CEO Henrik Henriksson. Scania on Monday halted production in Latin America. And on Wednesday, the truckmaker will suspend production of trucks and bises in Europe. "It's a completely new game plan," says CEO Henrik Henriksson. "We are well placed to handle this. But we have to help," he adds. "It's about Getinge needing to increase its production dramatically and then we want to help and we have good skills that are available when it comes to running logistics flows," Henriksson says. Scania's own production stoppage is currently scheduled to last at least three weeks, until Monday 13 April. "Then we have to make a decision week by week on how to handle this and at what pace we will produce," Henriksson says. According to the Scania boss, several factors determine when and to what extent production can be started up again. Firstly, staffing must be resolved. There are confirmed cases of coronavirus at the truck dealers in southern Europe. But in addition, there are a large number with suspected symptoms. "There are quite large losses and it is increasing every day," Henriksson says. "There were too many shortcomings. But in some parts of the organization, more than ten percent are at home, for self-care or to take care of children or relatives. Another important factor in being able to run production again is the availability of components and functional logistics. "The first disruption we received was with suppliers in China. We could handle that pretty well. Then it became more difficult when it continued with northern Italy: And when the supplier disruption included those in France and Germany, there were too many restrictions that forced us to suspend production.” The economic impact of the pandemic is a third factor that determines how Scania will design and time the restart of production and other activities that are now declining on the back burner, such as research and development. Here it is ultimately the order book that determines Scania's decision.

Bloomberg / March 24, 2020 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) is using an auto plant in China to make a million face masks a month to donate to first responders and health-care providers in the U.S., CEO Mike Manley said in an email to employees. Conversion of the plant began Monday and Fiat expects to start production in the coming weeks. A spokeswoman said that making the masks at a China plant that is up and running is the fastest way to get much-needed supplies to health workers in the U.S. Manley also wrote that Fiat engineers and manufacturing teams and Ferrari employees in Italy are working with Siare Engineering, an Italian respirator company, to more than double their productivity.

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