Archive for September, 2009


Daimler Trucks sees Brazil upturn, keeps U.S. plant

Filed Under: Componenta, PKC Group by pietrox — Leave a comment
30/09/2009

* Hires 800 more staff for Brazil trucks/bus business
* To keep open U.S. plant slated to close next year
* Shares rise 0.1 percent in line with auto sector
(Adds comment from source on Fiat’s Iveco)

FRANKFURT/HAMBURG, Sept 30 (Reuters) – Daimler <DAIGn.DE> will hire 800 more staff for its Brazilian commercial vehicles business and keep open a U.S. truck plant as the two key markets show signs of reviving, the world’s biggest truckmaker said. The moves offer a glimmer of hope for commercial vehicle manufacturers slammed by the global economic crisis and could signal a broader uptick because truck sales often act as a leading indicator of economic health. But industry officials have warned against expecting any quick rebound for truckmakers until the global economy accelerates and boosts demand for goods transport.

“The hiring of new staff makes clear that we trust the Brazilian economy will see a slight upturn after the global economic crisis,” Mercedes-Benz do Brasil President Gero Herrmann said in a statement released in Germany. Daimler will also put 350 staff with term contracts and 160 apprentices onto unlimited contracts in Brazil given improved market conditions since mid-2009, especially in the agricultural, construction and mining sectors, it said. More than 12,600 people work at the Sao Bernardo do Campo plant there, Daimler’s biggest heavy truck plant outside Germany. Daimler also reversed a decision to close a U.S. truck plant next year thanks to prospects for a large U.S. military order and an uptick in demand for heavy trucks, it said.

Daimler had announced last October plans to close its Oregon plant in June 2010 as part of an overhaul of its North American operations to address a deep market slump. “The U.S. market for heavy trucks is showing a slight recovery month by month,” a Daimler spokesman said, citing in particular the end to the U.S. housing slump that was boosting demand from the construction sector. Talks with labour about the 650 staff in Oregon were under way. He gave no details about the size of the military contract.

GLOOM, NOT BOOM

Daimler’s upbeat view comes in strong contrast to the gloom truckmakers have spread for two years.
“The drop in economic activity and transport has pushed truck production down to half of pre-crisis levels and there are no real signs of recovery in sight,” the ACEA association of European vehicle manufacturers said last week. The heavy truck market in Europe fell nearly 48 percent in the first eight months of the year.
The order intake for heavy trucks in Europe stalled at around 25,000 units in the first half of 2009, down 85 percent from the same period of 2008, forcing manufacturers to lay off temporary staff, reduce working hours and cut shifts. Europe’s commercial vehicle industry employs about 1.5 million people directly and indirectly, according to ACEA.  Michel Rollier, chief executive of French tyremaker Michelin <MICP.PA>, said at this month’s Frankfurt Motor Show that the truck market was still struggling and “we’re not seeing much recovery”. [ID:nL0511183] Rival truckmakers pointed out that the Brazilian market is not the best litmus test for the rest of the world.

“South America hasn’t been hit as severely by the financial crisis. As for Brazil, the situation is somewhat better (than elsewhere) — demand is fairly good there because of tax incentives which make trucks 5 percent cheaper,” said Marten Wikforss, a spokesman for world number two Volvo.  Brazil’s banking system is also functioning well, which means credit is available for buying vehicles. Volvo truck deliveries in South America fell 35 percent year on year in August, while group deliveries shrank 52 percent.  Scania <SCVb.ST> <VOWG.DE> spokesman Hans-Ake Danielsson agreed that demand in Brazil was “comparatively good”. “We haven’t lost nearly as much there as we have lost in Europe,” he said, but added it would not need more staff to meet demand. Scania has a market share of 23-25 percent in Brazil.   Daimler said it had around a third of the heavy truck market and half the bus market in Brazil in August.

“For industrial vehicles, all of Latin America and in particular Brazil are in a phase of expansion,” said a source at Fiat SpA’s <FIA.MI> truck unit Iveco.   Iveco is increasing production capacity and last September inaugurated a new production line at Sete Lagoas, tripling the capacity to 20,000 lorry units a year for an investment of 80 million real, the source said.

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Gunns positive about pulp mill funding

Filed Under: Pöyry by pietrox — Leave a comment
29/09/2009

Gunns positive about pulp mill funding

September 29, 2009

Woodchipper Gunns Ltd says it in a positive position to progress the funding of its proposed $2 billion pulp mill in Tasmania now that global financial markets are improving.

“The company is continuing to pursue the financing of the mill project,” Gunns said in its annual report, published on Tuesday.

“… during the course of the year (2008/09), the global financial crisis had a significant impact on credit markets and project funding.

“The company has continued to maintain its relationships with key project banks through this period and is now in a positive position to progress financing as markets improve,” Gunns said.

The company said negotiations were continuing positively with the joint venture partner that it had selected in June as the preferred joint venture partner for the mill at Bell Bay in northern Tasmania.

Gunns also said it was assessing opportunities to participate in the restructuring of the Australian plantation management sector and since its June 30 balance date, on August 31, acquired Elders Ltd subsidiary ITC Timber Pty Ltd for $100 million.

The company said the key drivers for the group over the medium term would be based on adding maximum value to the timber it processed, increased demand for pulp and paper products globally, and achieving the synergies predicted from the purchase of the ITC business.

Gunns booked an annual net profit for the 2008/09 financial year of $56.24 million, down one per cent on the prior year.

At the time Gunns announced its annual result, on August 31, chairman John Gay said the outlook for company’s forest products business remained difficult.

“Wood fibre sales are largely dependent on the Japanese market, and economic conditions are expected to remain weak through at least the course of the first quarter of the 2010 financial year, with the strengthening Australian dollar adversely impacting our competitive position,” Mr Gay said in a statement at the time

via Gunns positive about pulp mill funding.

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Scania CEO sees no real sign of market upturn

Filed Under: PKC Group by pietrox — Leave a comment
17/09/2009

* Scania CEO says market still at low level
* Says destocking phase largely over, inventories normalised
* Expects real level of demand to become clear during autumn

SODERTALJE, Sweden, Sept 17 (Reuters) – Truck maker Scania’s top executive said on Thursday that economic gloom still dominated heavy truck markets and while demand is not falling any longer, there was no real sign it is improving. “The bright point is that it (the market) has not continued even further down. It looks to have bottomed out,” Scania Chief Executive Leif Ostling told Reuters on the sidelines of a capital market day.  Ostling said he expected the underlying demand picture to become clearer during the autumn.

“What happens next year will largely depend on what position the banks will be in,” he said. The Swedish heavy-duty truck and bus maker just barely stayed profitable in the second quarter, pummelled by the steepest fall in demand in decades as the global financial crisis cut years of easy credit. Still, signs of some stabilisation in the highly-cyclical market for commercial vehicles have emerged in recent months though clear evidence of any recovery remains distant.

Earlier this week, Scania’s larger domestic rival Volvo said its truck shipments, while still dismal, fell slightly less year-on-year in August than in the preceding month. Ostling said the phase of scaling back inventories that has worsened the slump in truck markets was largely over, leaving the company able to raise its production level despite the continued weak demand. “I don’t think we should be too bullish over these signals and say that now it’s over again and steaming up,” Ostling told analysts at Scania’s headquarters, south of Stockholm.

“I think we have to be cautious also next year because the financial system is still in such a bad shape.” Scania shares were up 0.9 percent to 88 crowns by 0836 GMT, narrowly outperforming a 0.4 percent gain in the Stockholm bourse’s blue chip index. Inventory levels had normalised in most regions while the second-hand truck market, which has seen a glut of modern vehicles as operators cut their fleets due to the downturn, had also stabilised, Ostling said.

The financial crisis has seen credit dry up for many small- and mid-size transport firms, leaving them unable to finance purchases of new commercial vehicles and exacerbating the impact of the economic downturn. “Balance sheets of some banks are in a pretty bad shape. The size of the impairments that banks will have to do will decide how much liquidity will be available for us in the industry,” Ostling said. This will determine the timing of a recovery in demand in truck markets, he added. “If this is a slow process it will be more like a 1980s scenario, and if they have low impairments it may be more like the 1990s with a faster recovery.”

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Truck deliveries in August 2009 – Press releases : Volvo Group – Global

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15/09/2009

Total deliveries from the Volvo Group’s truck operations in August amounted to 7,109 vehicles. This was a decrease of 52% compared with the year-earlier period. In addition to continued low demand, deliveries for August were also affected by a prolonged vacation period.

Volvo Group

Total deliveries by market for the Volvo Group’s truck operations (Volvo Trucks, Mack, Renault Trucks, Nissan Diesel and Eicher).

Delivered Units

August

Change

Year-to-date

Change

Volvo Group

2009

2008

2009

2008

Europe

1 411

5 000

-72%

31 692

86 817

-63%

Western Europe

1 153

3 418

-66%

28 756

67 061

-57%

Eastern Europe

258

1 582

-84%

2 936

19 756

-85%

North America

1 267

1 901

-33%

10 133

19 884

-49%

South America

989

1 517

-35%

7 080

11 671

-39%

Asia

2 637

4 617

-43%

19 915

38 038

-48%

Middle East

204

1 157

-82%

3 742

10 685

-65%

Other Asia

2 433

3 460

-30%

16 173

27 353

-41%

Other markets

805

1 676

-52%

9 083

13 189

-31%

Total Volvo Group

7 109

14 711

-52%

77 904

169 599

-54%

Light duty (< 7t)

1 290

2 115

-39%

14 267

29 576

-52%

Medium duty (7-16t)

1 437

2 405

-40%

12 627

20 910

-40%

Heavy duty (>16t)

4 383

10 190

-57%

51 011

119 113

-57%

Total Volvo Group

7 109

14 711

-52%

77 904

169 599

-54%

(1) VE Commercial Vehicles Limited was consolidated (50%) into the Volvo Group 1 August 2008.

via Truck deliveries in August 2009 – Press releases : Volvo Group – Global.

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Finnish firm on starting line to make weather forecast – Express India

Filed Under: Vaisala by pietrox — Leave a comment
08/09/2009

Helsinki A prominent player in the weather measurement business, Finnish company Vaisala won a one 1-million euro tender in August to set up 60 automatic weather stations across Delhi to provide high-quality weather services for the Commonwealth Games next year.

Though the contract has not been signed yet — the company believes there is enough time to execute the job — the Finnish firm is also participating in the tender process of five other contracts to provide equipment to make weather forecasts during the sports event next October.

Vaisala’s executive vice-president (meteorology) Martti Husu told Newsline that all six contracts are estimated at 10 million euros.

The 60 weather stations, Vaisala’s chief technology officer (strategic research) Ari Meskanen, said will provide data on wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity and atmospheric pressure. These stations are portable for temporary installations and consist of a lightweight aluminum tripod and easy-to-use connectors that make them fast to set up. These, company officials said, measure surface weather over a wide range of applications.

“The prediction will be extremely accurate,” Meskanen said, adding that a recent World Bank input on the modernisation of meteorological services in India indicate the country needs to spend nearly $ 400 million in the next five years for a complete makeover of its network.

India utilises 30,000 locally produced devices to gauge weather, sources said.

For the recent project, Vaisala will be the prime partner in technology and resource-sharing, largely providing equipment and expert advice. It has subcontracted to India-based partner HBE the job of handling the installation of its products, training officials and providing after-sales services required to maintain the equipment.

Husu said the weather data — deriving from observations as real-time as possible — will then be lifted by the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) and sent out as forecast.

Though in the business for over 70 years, Husu said the company entered the Indian market only last year and hopes to be associated with the Ministry of Earth Sciences in providing grist to its plan of upgrading the IMD’s network.

The company’s senior vice-president (communications) Helena Marjaranta said Vaisala provided weather solutions for the Beijing Olympics, too, for the business expected for the Commonwealth Games tenders: 10 million euros.

The Delhi government is also looking at five other Games projects, including installing two wind profilers, one new upper air station and developing a high-resolution, numerical weather forecasting model.

The Finnish company hopes to be a long-term player in India’s expanding weather solutions basket. Officials said it is looking at becoming a supplier in expanding India’s hydrological network, supplying meterological solutions for the Indian road authority, harbours, the Power Grid Corporation of India, and hydro and solar power plants.

It also plans to become a major supplier of various instruments used in the Indian meteorological industry.

(The writer is a guest of Finnfacts and Cleantech Finland in Finland)

Helping out Met

* Wins tender to set up 60 automatic weather stations across Delhi to provide high-quality weather services
* Participating in tender process of 5 other contracts to provide equipment to make weather forecasts
* 60 weather stations to provide data on wind speed and direction, temperature, humidity, atmospheric pressure
* Stations are portable for temporary installations
* Consist of a lightweight aluminum tripod and easy-to-use connectors that make them fast to set up

via Finnish firm on starting line to make weather forecast – Express India.

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