Tag Archives: Capacity

Should The Japanese and European governments assist automakers with demand growth ?

Posted on September 15, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Wall Street Journal (September 15, 2012) describes a request by the CEO of Nissan, Carlos Ghosn, to the Japanese government to intervene to make the yen exchange rate more favorable to local production and encourage alternate … Continue reading →

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Apple cuts chip orders to Samsung

Posted on September 11, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 9,2012) claims that Apple has cut orders for memory chips sourced from its long time supplier, Samsung. Current patent disputes regarding the similarity of Samsung’s phone and the iphone have caused friction … Continue reading →

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The reported 8471 % markup for drugs in the US

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

A report released on July 25, 2012 by staff in the US Senate committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, examined the gray market for prescription drugs and why hospitals are forced to pay extremely high prices for some drugs. One … Continue reading →

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Too few countries producing staple crops and associated risk

Posted on September 7, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (September 7,2012) describes food price increases of 10% from June to July 2012, corn and wheat price increases of 25% and soybean price increases of 17%. The reason – drought in the US … Continue reading →

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Volkswagen (VW) and its Modular Transverse Matrix strategy for part commonality

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune (July 23, 2012) describes VW’s plan to standardize the 60 % of a car model’s cost – the front axle, heating, air conditioning etc across 40 car models and thus seven million units. The projected savings … Continue reading →

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Lending plants to get OEMs back on track after the Japanese earthquake

Posted on September 3, 2012 by aviyer2010

A report published by the Congressional Research Service (“The Motor Vehicle Supply Chain: Effects of the Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami” by Bill Canis, May 23, 2011) describes an example in which Denso, a Tier 1 supplier to Toyota, decided to … Continue reading →

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Making shoes for the world in Ethiopia ?

Posted on September 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the Economist (June 9, 2012) describes demand for $2 shoes in Ethiopia, as protection against injuries, worms etc that affect bare feet. The population of Ethiopia is expect to double by 2040, chronic hunger impacts fewer Ethiopians … Continue reading →

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Manufacturing hubs with entire supply chains in Ohio to be competitive

Posted on September 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Fortune (June 11, 2012) describes a plan proposed by Mark Kwamme to create Manufacturing hubs consisting of entire supply chains to compensate for higher labor costs. The goal is to reduce logistics costs and thus decrease overall … Continue reading →

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Moving production to the US despite lower Chinese manufacturing costs

Posted on September 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (June 25, 2012) describes several examples of companies that moved production to the US from China, despite up to 30% lower Chinese manufacturing costs. For Lightsaver, the 30% lower manufacturing costs were compensated by costs of … Continue reading →

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Should natural gas filling stations be subsidized ?

Posted on September 2, 2012 by aviyer2010

An article in the New York Times (June 21, 2012) describes the abundant availability and low prices of natural gas, even though it could provide a cheaper, less polluting alternative to oil if available widely. A move to enable natural … Continue reading →

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