Take a look beneath the floorboards of the prefabricated residential deck system from SigmaDek Ltd. There is no wood. With an aerospace inspired design, SigmaDek has replaced lumber with an aluminum substructure of die cast and extruded components to reduce lifetime maintenance, simplify fabrication, and increase safety.
US Automakers Sales Up
The CBS Evening News (9/1, story 4, 2:10, Pelley) reported, “One bright spot in the economy is the auto industry.”
The New York Times (9/2, B3, Bunkley, Subscription Publication) reports, “General Motors, the Ford Motor Company and Chrysler all posted impressive gains from a year earlier in their August data released on Thursday. Industrywide, sales rose 7.5 percent from a year ago and 1.2 percent from July, according to the Autodata Corporation, which tracks auto sales.” GM sales increased “18 percent, and Ford reported an 11.1 percent increase. But both companies are having trouble keeping up with demand for their respective compact cars, the Chevrolet Cruze and Ford Focus, among other models.” The Times reports, “Chrysler said its August sales rose 30.6 percent, including a 58 percent increase for its Jeep brand of sport utility vehicles. It was the 17th consecutive month of year-over-year increases for Chrysler, which is gathering momentum after being written off by many critics.”
The Detroit Free Press (9/2, Thompson) reports US vehicle “sales finished last month at a 12.1 million seasonally adjusted annual rate, according to Autodata, even with analysts’ expectations. That’s a slight decline from July’s 12.2-million pace.” But, “after three years of sales below previously normal rates of 15 million to 16 million, auto executives said they believed consumers would continue to trickle back into the market this year.”
The Detroit News (9/2, Priddle, Hoffman, Rogers) reports, “Toyota Motor Corp.’s sales tumbled 12.7 percent in August to 129,483 vehicles. US sales for the Toyota brand fell 13.6 percent; while sales for its luxury division Lexus were down 7 percent last month.” Honda Motor Co.’s sales fell “even further, down 24.3 percent in August over the same month in 2010. Honda sold 82,321 vehicles in August, compared to 108,729 a year ago.” While “Nissan Motor Co. was the only major Japanese automaker to gain sales last month. It reported a 19.2 percent rise in sales of Nissan and Infiniti vehicles in August, to 91,541.”
Bloomberg News (9/2) reports, “Hyundai Motor Co.’s August deliveries increased 9.1 percent to 58,505 vehicles, the company said in a statement. Kia Motors Corp. said in a statement its August sales rose 27 percent to 41,188. Combined sales for the two Seoul-based partners, which operate separately in the US, totaled 99,693, behind only GM, Ford, Chrysler and Toyota for the month.”
On The Job Hunt: Unfilled Jobs Across America, Are You Qualified?
Every day we hear the steady drumbeat. Unemployment over 9 percent. People who can’t find jobs exhausting their unemployment benefits. Going months – even years without work. Losing their homes to foreclosure. Marital and family breakups. Homelessness. It is tragic. No question.
But here’s a bizarre twist. While millions of people can’t find work, there are many American companies who can’t find people to fill open jobs. Thousands of jobs. Good paying jobs.