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Yokohama to push up tire prices
Yokohama Tire Corp. plans to increase prices on all of its tires sold in the U.S., including all consumer, commercial, and off-road units, by up to 7% starting April 1 – a move necessitated by a number of cost factors, noted Rick Phillips, Yokohama's vice president of sales.
“This pricing action is necessitated by the high cost of raw materials and freight expenses that have impacted us in 2016 and will continue to be a factor in the business,” Phillips explained in a statement.
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Economic Watch: Manufacturing, Employment Help Launch Strong 2017
The U.S. manufacturing industry kicked off the year with its strongest performance in two years, according to a new report, while a separate one about the sector plus others regarding employment, personal spending and incomes all points to increased economic growth.
The final U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index for January, released Wednesday by financial information services provider IHS Markit, showed both output and new order growth accelerating since the end of last year.
Improving business conditions were also reflected in a sustained upturn in payroll numbers and the steepest rise in stocks of finished goods since the index began in 2007. Meanwhile, manufacturers reported that confidence regarding the year-ahead business outlook was the strongest since March 2016, which was mainly linked to hopes of a continued upturn in domestic economic conditions.
All this pushed the index to a reading of 55 in January, up from 54.3 in December and little changed from the preliminary January reading of 55.1. A reading above 50 indicates expansion while one below 50 signals contraction.
January data revealed a renewed acceleration in output growth among manufacturing firms, with the rate of expansion reaching its strongest for 22 months.
According to Chris Williamson, chief business economist at IHS Markit, despite exports being subdued by the strong dollar, order books are growing at the fastest pace for over two years on the back of improved domestic demand.
“With optimism about the year ahead at the highest since last March, the outlook has also brightened,” he said. “Production is consequently growing at the strongest rate for almost two years and inventories are rising at a rate not seen for nearly a decade as firms respond to higher demand, suggesting the goods-producing sector will make a decent contribution to first quarter GDP.”
Williamson cautioned that with input costs also rising at the steepest rate for over ...Read the rest of this story
Earnings Watch: 4th Quarter Profit for Volvo Jumps 86%
The parent company to truck and engine manufacturers Volvo and Mack on Wednesday reported sharply higher income for the final quarter of 2016. However, the Bulldog brand last year reported its weakest number of deliveries in several years.
Profit for Volvo AB, also known as Volvo Group, was 4.82 billion Swedish kronor, or $551 million, according to MarketWatch, up 86% from 2.59 billion kronor in the fourth quarter of 2015 and better than analysts were expecting. Revenue increased 3.7% 82.56 billion kronor, compared with 79.64 billion kronor in the final quarter of 2015.
For all of 2016, Volvo said net income fell by 12.4% to 13.2 billion kronor or $2 billion, while revenue decreased 3% to $301.9 billion kronor.
“Our profitability improved with an adjusted operating margin of 7% for the full year 2016,” said Martin Lundstedt, president and CEO. “This reflects our ability to manage volume changes in different regions as well as continued cost reductions and productivity improvements. The fourth quarter followed the pattern of previous quarters with somewhat improved profitability on lower volumes.”
He said that in Europe truck demand continues to be “high due to good freight volumes combined with low fuel prices and interest rates that support our customers' profitability.” On the other hand, the North American market was not as good with retail deliveries down 19% in 2016 compared to the exceptionally strong market in 2015.
“The downward correction in the North American highway segment continued, but with some signs of stabilization as the industry's inventory of new trucks came down to more healthy levels,” Lundstedt said. “However, there is still an overhang of used trucks in the market that will continue to dampen demand.”
Overall, Volvo AB delivered 50,489 trucks in the fourth quarter, which is 10% less than the preceding year. However, he pointed out that in 2016 ...Read the rest of this story