The American Automotive Policy Council released its report, "State of the U.S. Auto Industry 2014," detailing automakers’ contributions to the U.S. economy through job creation; recent investments in new plants and facilities; spending on R&D; support of U.S. parts suppliers; and production, sales and hiring trends.
“Automakers and suppliers are America’s largest manufacturing sector, its largest exporter and a top consumer of American steel, iron, rubber and semiconductors,” said Matt Blunt, president of AAPC. “But what stands out in this year’s report is how much they are investing in the future, with $38 billion in new capital for U.S. plants and facilities over the past five years and $18 billion in U.S. R&D this past year alone.”
The new report was compiled using U.S. auto production, sales, capital investment, R&D, parts purchases, and employment data from each of the automakers, as well as analysis from leading industry experts. It also provides analysis on how production, investment and employment have rebounded since the financial crisis and expected to grow through 2016.
“As with prior years, Chrysler, Ford and General Motors contribute far more to America’s economy than their competitors,” said Blunt. “They produce more of their vehicles, buy more of their parts, conduct more of their research and base more of their workers in the U.S. With an industry as big as autos, these differences represent billions in investment, billions in parts purchases, and millions of American jobs.”
The report provides an extensive review of the U.S. auto industry. Following are top findings that show the economic importance of Chrysler, Ford and GM:
- Chrysler, Ford and GM employ two out of three of America’s autoworkers and operate two out of three of America’s assembly plants.
- Chrysler, Ford and GM employees work at more than 180 assembly plants, factories, research labs, distribution centers and other facilities, located in 31 states across 91 Congressional Districts. Last year alone, these workers produced 5.8 million cars and trucks here.
- Chrysler, Ford and General Motors invest more than $14 billion on research and development each year.
- Vehicles produced by Chrysler, Ford and GM contain more parts made by domestic suppliers: Seven of 10 of their models contain 60 percent or more domestic content. By comparison, seven out of 10 of their competitors’ models contain 5 percent or less domestic content.
- The State of the U.S. Auto Industry 2014 can be found here.
