Supplier Eye

Automotive

Feast, Then Famine

As re-regionalization continues, there could be a limited bright spot ahead.

Supplier Eye

Government

A Re-regionalized Industry

Any supply issues upstream will reverberate exponentially.

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

OEM Growth in China

The growth of the Chinese automotive sector is going to alter the industry globally.

News

Power

Looking Ahead to 2026

September is unofficially known in the industry as a key forecasting month. It’s when several suppliers lock in their revenue forecasts for the next year. As we approach 2026, there are still several balls in the...

News

Regulations/Standards

Delay and Extend and Rescope

Suppliers are learning several new and unwelcome lessons as the dynamics surrounding U.S. light vehicle trade and emissions legislation quickly shifts. Two major issues are at play here. As the industry...

News

Propulsion

Supplier Eye: Investment Certainty Is Critical

Much has been written about the challenging operating environment within the North American automotive ecosystem. Suppliers and OEMs alike were never trained in business school or past...

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Sourcing Re-Evaluation Underway

The events of the last few months (re: tariff structures) underscore that the world is becoming more insular. Last month’s column (on re-regionalization) outlined that major markets like China, the U.S. and the EU already have or are increasingly building a moat around their markets. Read on for this month's column.

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

In Tariff Talks, Cooler Heads Should Prevail

For my nearly 60-year lifetime, I have had the benefit of being part of a North American Automotive Industry that was, from a production perspective, completely rationalized and optimized. Given...

Supplier Eye

Energy

Near-Term Focus Can Obscure Reliable Path Forward

So often in our industry, we can be too focused on near-term opportunities and navigating immediate issues. With a new U.S. administration on the way in and more than a handful of other...

Supplier Eye

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

A New Reckoning

As the industry worked through accelerated production volumes last decade, there were few concerns surrounding low capacity utilization in our fixed-cost-heavy North American ecosystem. With the benefit of stronger demand and...

News

Energy

Planning with a Scenario Mindset

Across the industry, strategic planners from OEMs and suppliers alike are scratching their heads. The number of strategic directions they currently face is unprecedented. Combine global trade friction...

News

Mechanical & Fluid Systems

We've Been Here Before

For a couple of decades, virtually every global original equipment manufacturer spent significant capital and attention raising their sales/production profile in China. It became the world’s largest light vehicle...

News

Regulations/Standards

New Keys to Success

Much has been written about the extraordinary vehicle production and market environment of the past four years in North America and beyond. The plethora of negative impacts from COVID, chip availability, scarcity of...

News

Transportation

History Is a Great Teacher

History is a great teacher. There are lessons from the past that we should never forget. Lessons that are often the difference between success and failure in business. In the auto industry, some of the...

News

Automotive

The Supplier Capacity Dilemma at the Heart of the ICE-To-EV Transition

In the end, the transition from ICE to EV is about more than new technologies and processes. Suppliers need to be keenly aware of the risks assumed as BEV capacity is added. Being on the right program from a volume perspective is critical to supplier viability.

News

Power

'Scaling' EVs Won’t Come Easy

Regular readers of Supplier Eye will note that this author tries to outline the positives and the negatives of supplier strategies. It’s a moving target. A recent deluge of negative headlines with respect...

News

Energy

BEV-Agnostic’ Systems Require Attention

Much has been written about battery-electric propulsion’s impact on the automotive ecosystem. The level of change moves much past an overhaul to a complete re-imagination. While it can be...

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Moons Aligning

So far this decade, our industry has been heavily impacted by an endless stream of calamities. When impacted in isolation, dealing with a pandemic, weather disasters, supply- chain disruptions, ICE-to-BEV transition risks,...

Supplier Eye

Power

The New Wild West

As the industry quickly shifts its focus from ICE to BEVs, there is a prime opportunity to rethink the basics of the vehicle/propulsion development, manufacturing, procurement and the customer-facing go-to market...

Supplier Eye

Propulsion

Electrification Brings Supplier Value Closer to Home

Various aspects of life and business come full circle. While I’m not waiting for bell bottoms from the 1970s to make a triumphant return, the automotive industry is quickly returning...

Supplier Eye

Automotive

The Four Strategic Choices Facing Suppliers

Suppliers in the BEV-negative (adversely affected by battery electric propulsion) sectors essentially have four strategic choices going forward. Find out what they are.

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

The Great Migration of Light-vehicle Production

For years, analysts have pondered the impact of the migration of North American light vehicle production from its original hub in the U.S. Midwest to locations in the Southeast and Mexico....

News

Power

Erratic Transition to the BEV Future

The bloom is slowly wilting off the rose. The last two years witnessed an unprecedented level of battery electric vehicle (BEV) investment from both the auto industry and federal government....

News

Manned Systems

CASE Struggles to Fulfil Expectations

The saying ‘Two steps forward, one step back’ describes the overall progress of CASE — Connected, Autonomous, Shared and Electrified vehicles and infrastructures. While electrification and...

News

Energy

Are You Prepared for Scope 3?

Suppliers’ heads keep spinning. If the challenges of inflation, energy costs, logistics and labor scarcity weren’t enough chaos, here comes another hurdle: The ongoing push for de-carbonization —...

Supplier Eye

Automotive

Good News and Bad News for Auto Suppliers in 2023

The Fall season brings the annual rite of passage for the industry — setting budgets for the next calendar year. The balance of building revenue forecasts driven by vehicle demand, while...

News

Regulations/Standards

The Battle over EV Value-Add Has Begun

A critical industry transition is underway that some already are viewing as an impending battle. At stake is supplier value-add share versus that of OEMs as light-vehicle propulsion formats shift from...

Supplier Eye

Power

EVs Pressure Supplier Value-add

Across every tier of the global supply chain, heads are spinning from the pace of change being driven by vehicle electrification.

Supplier Eye

Manufacturing & Prototyping

Inflation Ignites Another Supplier Squeeze

For more than 100 years, OEMs and suppliers have partnered to build components, engineer and integrate systems, offer servicest, and even manufacture complete vehicles.