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New UAW boss Williams talks tough, vows 'no more concessions'

Dennis Williams, the newly elected president of the UAW, had some tough words for American automakers in his inauguration speech at the 2014 UAW Convention, striking down the possibility of any additional concessions from the 400,000-strong union.
"No more concessions. We are tired of it. Enough is enough," Williams said during his speech. UAW employees have not received a raise in nearly 10 years, according to Reuters.
Considering the recent strong results for Ford, Chrysler and General Motors, the union's demands are likely to carry a bit more weight in next year's negotiations. And considering Williams' tough stance, we could be in for some fireworks once negotiations commence.

Rising aluminum costs cut into Ford's profit

When Ford reports fourth-quarter results on Wednesday afternoon, it is expected to fret that rising metals costs have cut into profits, even as rivals say they have the problem under control. Aluminum prices have risen 20 percent in the last year and nearly 11 percent since Dec. 11. Steel prices have risen just over 9 percent in the last year. Ford uses more aluminum in its vehicles than its rivals. Aluminum is lighter but far more expensive than steel, closing at $2,229 per tonne on Tuesday. U.S. steel futures closed at $677 per ton (0.91 metric tonnes). Republican U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is weighing whether to impose tariffs on imported steel and aluminum, which could push prices even higher. Ford gave a disappointing earnings estimate for 2017 and 2018 last week, saying the higher costs for steel, aluminum and other metals, as well as currency volatility, could cost the company $1.6 billion in 2018. Ford shares took a dive after the announcement. Ford Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks told analysts at a conference in Detroit last week that while the company benefited from low commodity prices in 2016, rising steel prices were now the main cause of higher costs, followed by aluminum. Shanks said the automaker at times relies on foreign currencies as a "natural hedge" for some commodities but those are now going in the opposite direction, so they are not working. A Ford spokesman added that the automaker also uses a mix of contracts, hedges and indexed buying. Industry analysts point to the spike in aluminum versus steel prices as a plausible reason for Ford's problems, especially since it uses far more of the expensive metal than other major automakers. "When you look at Ford in the context of the other automakers, aluminum drives a lot of their volume and I think that is the cause" of their rising costs, said Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at auto consultancy LMC Automotive. Other major automakers say rising commodity costs are not much of a problem. At last week's Detroit auto show, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV's Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne reiterated its earnings guidance for 2018 and held forth on a number of topics, but did not mention metals prices. General Motors Co gave a well-received profit outlook last week and did not mention the subject. "We view changes in raw material costs as something that is manageable," a GM spokesman said in an email.

Waymo self-driving van involved in Arizona crash

A self-driving Chrysler Pacifica minivan operated by Waymo, the autonomy subsidiary of Alphabet/Google, was involved in a two-car accident Friday afternoon in Chandler, Ariz. First reports indicate the autonomous vehicle was not at fault in the crash — not the "violator vehicle," according to ABC 15 News. This may be Waymo's first accident in its Arizona test program. The Waymo van's side was crumpled. Though Waymo announced in November it would do testing in Chandler without a human backup driver, one was behind the wheel of the van involved in the crash. Chandler police said the van was operating in autonomous mode. Minor injuries were reported. The accident was at Chandler Avenue and Los Feliz Drive. A Honda was eastbound on Chandler when it had to swerve to avoid a northbound vehicle in the intersection, police said. When it swerved, it entered the westbound lanes and struck the oncoming Waymo van. Waymo did not immediately comment on the accident. In March, a self-driving Uber vehicle struck and killed a pedestrian in Tempe, the first known fatality involving a self-driving car. Since that crash, Uber has halted its self-driving tests nationwide. Waymo CEO John Krafcik said following the Uber crash that his company's technology would have detected and avoided the pedestrian. Related Video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Image Credit: ABC 15 Auto News Green Chrysler Minivan/Van Autonomous Vehicles Waymo chrysler pacifica