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mmsonline.com April 2017 MMS 89 FEATURE What's Happening in Automotive Manufacturing? That's a big question, but some facts and figures reveal a few of the facets of this industry's current vitality. BY M A R K A LB E RT A utomotive OEMs and their suppliers are investing in retooling and improving facilities to increase productivity and improve efficiency. Notable OEM spending programs include $1.4 billion for a transmission plant in Livonia, Michigan; $200 million for an assembly plant in Avon Lake, Ohio; $75 million for an engine plant in Trenton, Michigan; $1 billion to retool factories in Ohio and Michigan; and $700 million for an assembly plant in Flat Rock, Michigan, to name a few. According to the 2017 Metalworking Capital Spending Survey by Gardner Business Intelligence (the research division of Gardner Business Media, publisher of Modern Machine Shop), facilities that serve the automotive industry have said they will spend $804 million on machine tools this year (not counting job shops that do work for this industr y). In fact, the automotive industry rep- resents the largest end market for all machine tool purchases this year. Overall spending by strictly automotive facil- ities is expected to total $370 million on machin- ing centers, $48 million on turning centers and $103 million on grinding equipment. The survey indicates that automo- tive industry spending will be about 60 percent higher than spending by the aerospace industry and four times more than the medical industry. The Top End Markets table (below) shows the expected spending figures. Looking at some of the factors behind that strength suggests what it might mean for U.S. manufacturing overall and for the suppliers in the automotive sector. STRONG FOR HOW LONG The automotive industry is strong right now, mainly because automakers are producing a lot of vehi- cles. Production of cars and trucks is peaking at historic levels, setting a sales record of just under 17.5 million vehicles in 2015 and about 17.55 mil- lion in 2016. Predictions call for production of vehicles in North America to top 18 million in 2017, 2018 and 2019. The automotive industry is expected to outspend all other industries on machine tools in 2017. TOP END MARKETS 2017 Automotive $804,264,149 Aerospace $485,228,092 Electronics $235,888,216 Medical $196,309,677 Off-Road/Construction $167,769,088 Military $132,378,322 Oil/Gas/Mining $101,828,823 ALL $2,123,666,367