Ontario manufacturers more autos than Michigan
For the first time since the assembly line was invented and implemented in Michigan by Henry Ford, the state known
as the capital of the world's industry failed to produce the most amount of vehicles in North America last year.
Ontario has long been nipping at the heels of Michigan in terms of total auto output and finally surpassed the state in
2004 by 103,000 vehicles. The article cites a few factors for Michigan's fall from grace, including government
subsidized health care in Canada, downtime created in Michigan by plant retoolings, and the chronic market-share
declines of the Big 3. Michigan, however, is on pace to regain its title in 2005, but for how long is anyone's
guess.
The linked article is a good read and there's a chart that lists the top 10 auto producing states and countries in
North America for various years.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Merkis 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Uh, Ontario is much larger than Michigan, so it only makes sense.
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Toneroo 11:06PM (12/18/2005)
Sorry, that logic doesn't make a lot of sense to me. They aren't building cars in Sault Ste. Marie or Barrie, or hundreds of other areas of the province. The cars are all built in cities very close to the border.
This, however, makes a lot of sense - "He noted health care expenses for GM's current and retired U.S. workers add about $1,400 to every vehicle it makes."
$1,400?! That's a huge percentage of the cost of producing a vehicle. Anyone in thir right mind would be looking somewhere else if those are the kind of personnel costs they have to deal with.
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