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March 28, 2012 | 11:00 AM | By Micki Maynard

Toyota Is Back To Its Old Self, Growing Again

Over the past few years, Toyota’s world was Total Recall — not the movie, but the struggles it faced over defects. But this year, Toyota is back to its old self, adding jobs and making  investments.

It’s already spending $400 million to hire 400 more people in Princeton, Ind., and it’s brought its Blue Springs, Miss., plant up to full staff. Now, Toyota is expanding again, at its newest Canadian plant in Woodstock, Ontario.

Toyota said today it’s investing $80 million (Canadian) and hiring 400 more people as it increases production of the small RAV4 sport utility. The company will go from building 150,000 RAVs a year to 200,000 annually.

Toyota has operations all over the Midwest, including its big design and research center in Ann Arbor, Mich., its headquarters outside Cincinnati and many suppliers scattered everywhere. So, any step Toyota takes is important to our region.

Here’s a look at some of the strategic thinking behind what Toyota is doing.

FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, Ann Arbor, canada, Indiana, jobs, Toyota
March 26, 2012 | 10:38 AM | By Micki Maynard

Two Countries, Two Red and White Flags, One Trade Deal?

“I don’t even know what street Canada is on,” Al Capone once said. But Canada’s prime minister, Stephen Harper, is determined to make sure he puts Canada on the map with one key global power: Japan.

Map courtesy of About.com

If he accomplishes his goal, it could have ramifications for the automobile industry, agriculture and the Midwest in general.

Harper opened negotiations this weekend with Japan on a free trade agreement. Negotiators were careful to caution against any quick resolution, because it can take years to negotiate such deals, and Japan isn’t known for speedy decision making.

But, a Canada-Japan trade agreement would join one between Japan and Mexico — and leave the United States as the only North American country without one.  Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, auto industry, auto parts, canada, free trade agreement, Japan, Mexico, United States
February 6, 2012 | 11:47 AM | By Micki Maynard

Canada’s Caterpillar Loss Appears to Be Indiana’s Gain

On Friday, Caterpillar’s Progress Rail Services said it was closing its 62-year-old Electro-Motive Canada operation in London, Ontario, the subject of a union lock out since the beginning of the year. Now, it looks like some of the plant’s 475 jobs could be headed for Indiana, reports the Globe and Mail in Toronto.

Caterpillar held a jobs fair in Muncie, Ind., over the weekend, that drew thousands of applicants. Some job seekers showed up at 4 a.m., five hours before the company began letting people in the door. In all, about 3,000 people turned out, according to the Muncie Free Press.

The Muncie plant, which assembles locomotives, underwent a $50 million renovation last year and became the first new locomotive plant in the United States in years.

The New Year’s lock out of the Canadian Auto Workers union came after the CAW refused to accept deep concessions that would have cut hourly pay in half.

The move comes just as Indiana is implementing its new Right to Work law, signed by Gov. Mitch Daniels last week. The law prevents unions from charging mandatory dues, even if they represent a workforce.

In explaining the shutdown, Billy Ainsworth, the CEO of Progress Rail, said in a letter to employees that all the company’s facilities “must achieve competitive costs, quality and operating flexibility to compete and win in the global marketplace, and expectations at the London plant were no different.”

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, canada, Caterpillar, jobs, Right to Work
December 9, 2011 | 5:05 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Industry Leaders Say Relaxed Border Security Between U.S. And Canada Will Enhance Trade

The United States and Canadian governments announced Wednesday that border security measures would be relaxed to help speed trade between the two countries.

Improvements will be made to the Free And Secure Trade program that allow faster processing for commercial carriers who have already completed background checks and sharing of information in advance of arrivals, according to CBC News.

Slowdowns in border crossings cost the economy $16 billion a year, according to estimates. Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper hailed Wednesday’s agreement as the most significant step forward in cooperation with the U.S. since the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Ambassador Bridge, canada, Detroit, trade
November 22, 2011 | 10:51 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder Has New Ally In Fight For International Bridge

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder has an unlikely ally in his push to build a new international bridge between Detroit and Canada — the Buckeye State.

Ohio state senators say their state needs the bridge as much as Michigan.

They have introduced a senate resolution encouraging their northern neighbors to build a replacement for the 83-year-old Ambassador Bridge. Ohio Senate Resolution 141 states that bilateral trade with Canada generated $30.9 billion in 2010, and said Canada was the top market for Buckeye State exports.

“A modern border crossing that can support the ever-increasing amount of trade and travel between the U.S. and Canada is essential to the economies of Ohio, the Midwest and the U.S.,” says SR141, which was introduced by Republican Sen. Gayle Manning.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Communities, Government, Jobs, Ambassador Bridge, canada, Michigan, Ohio, Rick Snyder, transportation
November 21, 2011 | 12:15 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Michigan Debates International Bridge, Ohio Foreclosures Rise, U.P. Coal Plant Could Close

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Detroit bridge project scrutinized. Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder absorbed his first major political defeat since taking office – and it came at the hands of his own Republican party, which refused to green-light the construction of a new bridge between Detroit and Windsor. Expectations are growing, according to the Detroit Free Press, that Snyder will try to circumvent the legislature, a strategy that will raise legal questions about the range of the governor’s executive authority. Last week, Changing Gears senior editor Micki Maynard detailed the skirmish over the new bridge for The Atlantic Cities, and examined forceful opposition from Ambassador Bridge owner Matty Moroun.

2. Ohio foreclosures on the rise. After enjoying their lowest level of foreclosures in five years, Ohio residents saw a foreclosure uptick in the third quarter of 2011, mirroring a nationwide trend. Our partner station Ideastream reports foreclosures in Cuyahoga County increased 17 percent from the previous three-month period. Experts attribute the jump to mortgage lenders resuming the foreclosure process after last year’s robo-signing scandal had halted proceedings. Over the summer, less than 1 percent of Ohio home loans entered the foreclosure process, Ideastream reports. Currently, 9.3 percent of Ohio mortgage holders are late on their payments, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

3. Future of Michigan coal plant unclear. The only major power plant in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula is at a crossroads. A coal-fired plant owned by We Energies could be shut down over the next five or six years as new environmental rules go into effect. One alternative would be a switch to natural gas, a conversion being employed by numerous plants across the Midwest. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports the future of the plant is of high concern in Marquette, where We Energies employs 180 workers and plays 17 percent of the city’s property taxes. “A closure would be devastating for our community,” Mayor John Kivela tells the newspaper.

(Clarification: An earlier version of this entry contained dated information. It has been revised to indicate that a Michigan state senate committee defeated a proposal regarding a new bridge linking Detroit to Canada last month.)

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, canada, coal, Cuyahoga County, Detroit, energy, foreclosures, housing, Michigan, Ohio, Rick Snyder, transportation
November 8, 2011 | 4:16 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Canadian Mayors Share Rail Vision Outlined By Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, But Less Confident Of Funding

Last week, Gov. Rick Snyder extolled the economic importance of Michigan’s rail industry. He believes it could transform Detroit into an international transportation hub that sits at the center of a line extending from St. Louis to Toronto or Montreal.

The mayors of four Canadian cities met today to discuss the development of just such a project on their side of the border.

Although they all support it, they’re less optimistic it could reach fruition. A study by the Canadian government last month concluded that high-speed rail between Windsor and Toronto is “not financially viable.” Estimated costs of that project have been approximately $20 billion, according to CBC News.

Continue reading →

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, canada, Detroit, high speed rail, Michigan, Rick Snyder, transportation
September 19, 2011 | 4:00 AM | By Dan Bobkoff

Canada Says Obama Jobs Bill Hurts Both Countries

The President’s jobs bill provides over $100 billion for infrastructure like schools and roads. It also requires that all the steel, iron and manufactured goods used come from American firms.

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“It seems to be a reflexive protectionism,” said Roy Norton, Canada’s consul general for Ohio, Michigan, Indiana and Kentucky. “We understand the impulses.”

Canada fought against buy-American language in the 2009 stimulus bill and ultimately won an exemption. Now Canada’s leaders are urging Washington not to make the same mistake in this bill.

“We were surprised to see it all over again,” Norton said in an interview in Cleveland Friday.

He said it hurts the Midwest too. He points to US firms that could not bid on projects in 2009 because they sourced components from Canada.

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, Politics, canada, Jobs Bill, protectionism, trade, US