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Crazy about cars



doing business in automotives is more challenging than ever, but nonwovens are proving themselves vital to the next generation of cars.



Karen McIntyre




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News in the automotives sector has been grim during the past 12 months as major U.S. automakers has closed their doors or sought government assistance to move forward while foreign car companies have dealt with issues such as lower consumer spending, a move toward lower fuel dependency and economic malaise in general.

Many automotive market suppliers have been struggling to adapt their businesses to a new kind of industry. The market is preparing itself for not only fewer car builds but smaller designs on the cars that are made; suppliers have had to adjust. This year, it looks like car builds in the U.S. will be around 11 million, 3 million fewer than the 14 million made in rosier economic times. During the past couple of months, Detroit has seen a bit of a resurgence, brought on the federal government’s Cash for Clunkers programs—and similar programs are having their impact in Europe—but most described this program as a band aid that gave only a temporary boost to auto sales but did not have the intended effect of jump starting auto sales for the long term.