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Alarm over chip shortage prompts White House action
New York (AFP) - Alarmed over a semiconductor crunch that forced US carmakers to cut production, President Joe Biden on Wednesday vowed to bring an end to shortages of critical items. "The bottom line is simple: the American people should never face shortages in the goods and services they rely on," Biden said shortly before signing an executive order to strengthen US supply chains. The policy announcement comes on the heels of entreaties from businesses worried about not only the near-term chip shortages, but also long-term reliability of rare minerals and other goods. Supply crunches also h...
AFP
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Biden to review key supply chains after semiconductor crunch
New York (AFP) - President Joe Biden will order a review of critical US supply chains in the wake of a semiconductors shortage that has curtailed US auto production, the White House announced Wednesday. Under an executive order to be signed later Wednesday, Biden will order a 100-day review across federal agencies on semiconductors and three other key items: pharmaceuticals, critical minerals and large capacity batteries, according to White House fact sheet. Biden also will commission a more in-depth one-year review on a broader set of sources for key inputs for additional industries to analyz...
AFP
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Biden plans executive order after semiconductor crunch
New York (AFP) - The Biden administration is assessing immediate steps to address the semiconductor shortage and plans an executive order to shore up critical supply chain items, a White House spokeswoman said Thursday. "The administration is currently identifying potential choke points in the supply chain and actively working alongside key stakeholders in industry and with our trading partners to do more now," said White House spokeswoman Jen Psaki at a daily briefing. Psaki said the semiconductor supply shortage is also an impetus for an executive order to commission a "comprehensive review ...
AFP
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GM reports higher profits, sees limited hit from chip shortage
New York (AFP) - Strong US demand for trucks and SUVs boosted General Motors' fourth-quarter profits and the company on Wednesday projected higher earnings despite up to a $2 billion hit from the global semiconductor shortage. The results capped a rollercoaster year for GM and other US automakers that were forced to shut down plants last spring due to the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a massive hit to second-quarter sales. But GM saw a surprisingly hot market in the second half of the year. Carmakers now are dealing with another unexpected problem in the wake of Covid-19: a global shortag...
AFP
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GM reports higher profits, sees limited hit from chip shortage
New York (AFP) - Strong demand for large autos in the United States boosted General Motors' fourth-quarter profits as the big automaker projected Wednesday higher 2021 operating earnings despite a global semiconductor supply shortage. GM reported fourth-quarter profits of $2.8 billion, compared with a loss of $194 million in the year-ago period. Revenues rose 21.7 percent to $37.5 billion. The results capped a rollercoaster year for GM and other US automakers, which were forced to shut down plants in the spring due to the coronavirus. The company suffered a big loss in the second quarter, but ...
AFP
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General Motors lengthens plant shutdowns amid chip shortage
New York (AFP) - General Motors plans to shutter three idled plants at least through mid-March due to the global shortage of semiconductors, the automaker said Tuesday. The move extends the temporary closures the auto giant announced last week for factories in the US state of Kansas, the Canadian province of Ontario and the Mexican state of San Luis Potosi. "We are extending downtime at those plants, and will reassess in mid-March," the company said Tuesday. In some cases, GM plans to "build vehicles without certain modules and will complete them as soon as possible," according to the press r...
AFP
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Ford says will nearly double electric auto investment
New York (AFP) - Ford announced Thursday it is accelerating its investment in electric cars, but cautioned that the industry-wide shortage of semiconductors would pinch profits in 2021. The US auto giant, released fourth-quarter and annual results, and said it plans $22 billion in electric car investment through 2025, nearly twice the earlier plan. The announcement is the latest big bet on electric autos by a legacy automaker in the wake of upstart Tesla's growth and in anticipation of Biden administration initiatives to encourage emission-free vehicles. Last week, Ford's rival General Motors ...
AFP
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General Motors shuts three plants due to semiconductor shortage
New York (AFP) - General Motors will temporarily halt production at three factories and cut output by half at a fourth due to the global shortage of semiconductors, the auto giant said Wednesday. Starting next week, GM will suspend output at a US factory in Kansas, another in the Canadian province of Ontario and a third in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. A plant in South Korea will be run at half capacity. The announcement is the latest ripple effect of a global supply crunch that stemmed in part from outsized chip demand for game consoles and other consumer electronics during the coronavirus pandemi...
AFP
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US judge allows extradition of alleged Ghosn accomplices
Washington (AFP) - A US federal judge on Thursday gave the go-ahead to extradite to Japan two Americans who were arrested in May 2020 on suspicion of having helped former Renault-Nissan boss Carlos Ghosn flee Japan. Judge Indira Talwani ruled that Michael Taylor and his son Peter Taylor could not satisfactorily back up their claim that they would be subjected to conditions approaching torture in Japanese prison to merit breaching the extradition treaty between Tokyo and Washington. "Although the prison conditions in Japan may be deplorable and although the criminal procedures that the Taylors...
AFP
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Tesla reports $721 mn in 2020 earnings, first profitable year
New York (AFP) - Tesla Motors reported its first annual profit Wednesday following a big jump in auto deliveries despite the upheaval of the coronavirus pandemic as it signaled confidence for more growth in 2021. Elon Musk's electric car company -- which has soared on Wall Street for much of the last year -- benefited from scaled-up production at factories in California and China as it pushes forward with new plants in the state of Texas and Germany that are expected to begin production in 2021. "This past year was transformative for Tesla," the company said in its earnings report. "Despite u...
AFP
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