[Eddy Cruze]

GM extending summer factory shutdown as car sales slow

• General Motors is extending some plant shutdowns.
• Shutdowns are normal in summer, but extensions typically occur during periods of soft sales.
• Inventories are high, and sales appear to be slowing across the industry.

Robert Ferris | @RobertoFerris
2 Hours AgoCNBC.com

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Getty Images
Workers install doors on Chevrolet Malibu and Buick LaCross vehicles at the General Motors plant in Fairfax, Kansas.

General Motors will extend shutdowns at some of its factories this summer as sales slow and inventories fill up, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The GM plant in Lordstown, Ohio, and the Fairfax plant in Kansas City, Kansas, will be offline for up to five weeks in June and July, the Journal said, citing union officials. The Fairfax plant makes the Chevrolet Malibu.
Automakers often shut plants down for a couple of weeks in the summer as they prepare to release new models. But GM is dealing with relatively high levels of inventory after running production lines at high rates, the Journal said.

Neither General Motors nor the United Auto Workers union was immediately available to comment for CNBC.
The paper said job cuts may be needed as the workers return, since the assembly lines will be run at a slower pace. There already were layoffs at the Ohio plant.
Ford is also temporarily shutting down some plants. Automakers across the board are seeing some drops in demand, particularly among sedans and smaller cars, after years of record overall sales.
Read the full story in the Wall Street Journal

 

[obermd]

Low gas prices are the root cause of this. Americans want their SUVs that get Gallons per Mile vs. Miles per Gallon.

 

[Eddy Cruze]

I still want to know how a single gallon of fuel can power a CSX Train for 400 miles. My neighbor just left to take his BNSF train from Needles to Barstow (120 miles) and it takes 300 Gallons?

Do CSX Trains Really Move 1 Ton of Cargo 400 Miles on 1 Gallon of Fuel? | Center for Transportation and Livable Systems (CTLS)
Trains Really Move 1 Ton of Cargo 400 Miles on 1 Gallon of Fuel?


Do CSX Trains Really Move 1 Ton of Cargo 400 Miles on 1 Gallon of Fuel?

Posted on February 28, 2013 by Nicholas L
It may seem odd that CSX – a freight train company based in Florida – has been placing advertisements across television airways in recent weeks. Companies whose main clients are other companies (like freight movers) don’t often engage in television advertising. They avoid the cost because they don’t rely on individual consumers as part of their business model (Memorable exceptions include ads representing Siemens, and Tyco).
Regardless of their motives, CSX’s advertisements make a seemingly improbable claim: that their freight trains move 1 ton of cargo 436 miles on 1 gallon of gas. Is this possibly true?
While these numbers may seem far-fetched, they may be based in fact.

 

[jsusanka]

maybe better deals ahead as they try to get rid of inventory.

 

[ChevyGuy]

I still want to know how a single gallon of fuel can power a CSX Train for 400 miles. My neighbor just left to take his BNSF train from Needles to Barstow (120 miles) and it takes 300 Gallons?

If his train carried 1,000 tons then that number is accurate.

A quick search suggests that a coal car carries 100 tons. So ten of those would make a 1,000 ton train load. So, 1,000 tons sounds on the light side for train capacity.

 

[chevrasaki]

I don't understand how low gas prices automatically mean people want vehicles that burn more fuel. I would still want to buy something that gets great gas mileage and pay almost nothing for fuel when it's cheap. And then I won't be forced to sell when prices rise.

 

[newsguy99]

The train engine actually doesn't propel the train, its all electric motors. Love to see a smaller version made for a car, and see how many MPGs the car would get..

 

[Merc6]

I don't understand how low gas prices automatically mean people want vehicles that burn more fuel. I would still want to buy something that gets great gas mileage and pay almost nothing for fuel when it's cheap. And then I won't be forced to sell when prices rise.

Gas prices in the $4 range is the reason everyone was ditching SUVs and going Hybrids and fuel sippers. Now that the prices are low again they can go back to being King of the Hill with huge cars and trucks again. The crossover scene is starting to pick up since they compromise between the 2. Higher in cabin superiority feel and some utility w/o that 12 MPG hit of the Suburban. If I didn't have a car payment I would totally want one of these in really good running condition.

 

[guuyuk]

I have a bunch of big-truck/SUV fans in the office. Always found it amusing when gas prices were high to hear them whine and moan about having to spend well over $100 to fill up, or having to go to two stations because they could not put more than $75 in the tank (restrictions on debit cards if I remember correctly). Most of them did not "need" a huge pickup (except one guy who had a 5th wheel camper and used it often). They would have hated working in England when it cost $100+ to fill up even an economy car.