Canada union, Ford agree to tentative deal
US automaker Ford Motor and Canadian labor union Unifor have agreed to a tentative contract agreement hours after the prior one expired, avoiding a strike.
Details of the new agreement were not released. The two sides had extended negotiations by 24 hours after the expiration of the prior contract at midnight on Monday.
A strike at Ford's Canadian operations,which include two engine plants and an SUV plant, could have rippled into the US supply chain. The engine plants supply their products to multiple US facilities, although those plants have access to other engines they can use in the vehicles they produce.
Unifor will use the tentative agreement to set the tone for agreements between Ford, General Motors (GM) and Stellantis with the 18,000 union-represented workers at those company's Canadian operations.
In the US, the United Auto Workers (UAW) union began striking all three automakers on 15 September, targeting one facility at each company. The scope of the current strike may expand Friday afternoon if union leadership determines that not enough progress has been made in negotiations.
In response to the UAW strike, integrated steelmaker US Steel idled its remaining active blast furnace at its Granite City, Illinois, mill this week.
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Japan’s scrap export tender extends gains for May
Japan’s scrap export tender extends gains for May
Shanghai, 9 May (Argus) — The monthly export tender of Japanese scrap dealer co-operative Kanto Tetsugen continued its upwards trend in May, propelled by a favourable currency exchange rate. The May tender was concluded at ¥52,590/t fas for 20,000t of H2 scrap on 9 May, an increase of ¥1,503/t from April. This brought the fob price to an equivalent of ¥53,590/t or $344.60/t. Two cargoes were settled on 9 May, one of 15,000t and another of 5,000t, both at the same price. Some market participants anticipated the first would go to Bangladesh, as in recent months, while some market discussions were suggesting both were destined for Vietnam. The Vietnamese domestic steel market has shown more signs of a recovery since mid-April. The renewed increase in the export tender was mainly driven by the depreciation of the yen. Despite the significant increase in the tender result, the equivalent price in US dollars only rose by around $1/t compared with the previous month. The yen weakened to ¥155.70 to the dollar from ¥151.80 on 10 April. The Argus H2 fob Japan assessment was ¥50,800/t on 8 May, while the April monthly average was ¥50,757/t fob Japan. Tokyo Steel following the Kanto tender raised the collection price at its Utsunomiya plant by ¥1,000/t and maintained prices at other plants. The increase in the tender result and domestic prices in the Kanto region will raise suppliers' target levels for export business. But overseas buyers may require more time to absorb the gain and await further rises in steel sales prices, a market participant said. Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Hybrid vehicles spur Toyota’s record 2023-24 profit
Hybrid vehicles spur Toyota’s record 2023-24 profit
Tokyo, 9 May (Argus) — Japan's largest car producer Toyota reported a record profit for the 2023-24 fiscal year ending 31 March, partially because of strong sales of hybrid electric vehicles (HEVs). Toyota nearly doubled its profit for 2023-24 to ¥5.3 trillion ($34bn), its highest ever for a fiscal year. It sold 11mn vehicles globally, including its luxury brand Lexus, up by 7.3pc from a year earlier. The sharp rise in profit partly resulted from higher demand for HEVs that Toyota sold 3.6mn units of globally, up by 32.1pc from the previous year. North America was the leading market for its HEV sales, said the company's chief financial officer Yoichi Miyazaki, but a further breakdown was undisclosed. Firm demand for HEVs, for which Toyota has both technological and commercial advantages given its long history of development and experience, has largely been prompted by a global slowdown in battery electric vehicle (BEV) sales. HEVs consume significantly less battery materials compared with BEVs, as their battery size is normally 10pc of a BEV. Toyota is accelerating HEV production during 2024-25, as it plans to increase sales by 24.5pc from a year earlier to 4.5mn units. This accounts for 43pc of the company's total sales projection and is up by around 8 percentage points from a year earlier. The global slowdown in BEV sales could mean customers are being sceptical about the overstated view that BEVs are the only solution for decarbonisation, said Toyota's chief executive Koji Sato, adding that the infrastructure necessary for driving BEVs, including charging stations, has not yet adequately developed. But he was unclear on whether Toyota will slow its EV strategy that it announced last year to sell 1.5mn/yr of EVs by 2026 with 10 new models. The company plans to sell 171,000 BEVs during 2024-25, accounting for 1.6pc of its total sales projections. This is up by 46.2pc from a year earlier but the projection is based on "conservative estimations", according to Sato. By Yusuke Maekawa Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Polymers stocks safe in storm-hit Brazil: Braskem
Polymers stocks safe in storm-hit Brazil: Braskem
Orlando, 8 May (Argus) — Brazilian petrochemical giant Braskem said its polymer inventories are safe and protected from the damage caused by heavy rainfall at its operations in southern Brazil during the past two weeks. The inventories include polyethylene (PE), polypropylene (PP), ethylene and basic chemicals. Braskem had to shutdown all of its operations in Rio Grande do Sul state after the extreme weather event in recent days , the company told Argus on Wednesday, on the sidelines of the NPE Plastics fair in Orlando, Florida. The shutdown was completed safely, with no harm to the company's plants at the Triunfo petrochemical hub, which represents about 30pc of its ethylene production capacity in Brazil. Braskem is reevaluating its supply chain strategy to deal with the lack of production at the Trinfo hub. This includes serving its clients with PE produced at other company hubs in Brazil and Mexico, where it owns PE manufacturing joint venture Braskem Idesa. The same goes for PP and polyvinyl chloride (PVC), with other production hubs serving customers if the weather situation does not improve in the coming days. Operations at Braskem's 260,000 t/yr bio-based PE plant will restart as soon as conditions improve, the company said. No fatalities occurred at the company's operations, but part of its workforce has lost their homes and are being taken care of by Braskem, according to the company. State governor Eduardo Leite called the the flooding "the worst disaster in Rio Grande do Sul's history." There are 100 people dead and 128 missing, according to the state's civil defense. Braskem said it will resume its operations gradually, after weather conditions normalize and logistics in the state such as airports, railroads and flooded roads resume. Braskem is the largest producer of thermoplastic resins in the Americas and a leader in biopolymer production. By Frederico Fernandes Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
Japanese ethylene producers unite for decarbonization
Japanese ethylene producers unite for decarbonization
Tokyo, 8 May (Argus) — Japanese petrochemical producers Mitsui Chemicals, Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei have agreed to co-operate on decarbonization of their ethylene crackers in west Japan, targeting to decide a pathway within the current April 2024-March 2025 fiscal year. They plan to accelerate carbon neutrality at Mitsubishi Chemical and Asahi Kasei's 496,000 t/yr Mizushima cracker in Okayama prefecture and Mitsui Chemicals' 455,000 t/yr Osaka cracker in Osaka prefecture. The partners aim to introduce biomass feedstocks such as biomass-based naphtha and bioethanol and low-carbon cracking fuels like ammonia, hydrogen and electricity. They said joining forces will enable them to accelerate reducing greenhouse gas emissions, although they have not yet decided any further details. Mitsui Chemicals has experience in using bio-naphtha and recycled pyrolysis oil at its Osaka cracker. Japanese petrochemical producers have increasingly united to achieve decarbonization of their production processes, which account for around 10pc of the Japanese industrial sector's carbon dioxide emissions, according to the trade and industry ministry. Mitsui Chemicals, Sumitomo Chemical and Maruzen Petrochemical agreed to study the feasibility of chemical recycling and using bio-feedstocks at the Keiyo industrial complex in Chiba. By Nanami Oki Send comments and request more information at feedback@argusmedia.com Copyright © 2024. Argus Media group . All rights reserved.
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