Evening star., 1940-11-07
Auto Concerns Plan
Record Production
InL Last Quarter
Three-Month Volume
Expected to Reuch
1900, 900 Mark
BY DAVID ]. WILKIE,

DETROIT, Nov. T. Productive
activity in the motorcar industry
currently still is directed at the
stocking of retailers whose untitled
orders continue to exceed the out
put of the assembly lines.
The car manufacturers, whose
plants since the start of the new
model season have been operating
at a level we'll above 100000 units
week, expect to continue high vol
ume production through the re-
mainder of the years final quarter,
with output for the October -Novem-
ber-December period totaling well
above 100000 units.
If that volume is achieved it would
set a new fourth quarter record.
The previous record high for the last
three months of the year was 1,162,-
348 in 1899.
Executives Confident.
Despite the pressure to get the
national defense program into full
swing as quickly as possible, the
automobile manufacturers are conf
dent there will be little if any in
terruption to 1941 model output.
Barring defense requirements from
the motorcar industry that so far
have not even been hinted at, they
say, the anticipated schedule of car
and truck production can be carried
out.
The fact that machine tool out
put for next year will be absorbed
entirely in implementing the de-
fense program actually has caused
less disturbance in the induStry'S
manufacturing division than many
observers expected. Some restric-
ton on the availability of machine
tools had been anticipated, as a
matter of fact, when the 100000, 900
retooling program for 1941 model
vehicles got under way early this
summer.
The suggestion was advanced by
one authoritative observer in the
industry this week that, with a cou-
pie of months or more to go before
the machine tool output is taken
over for defense work, the motorcar
manufacturers already are at work
on plans for assembling tools and
dies for 1912 models. The equip
ment so provided would be mainly
of the kind that could be made in
the car manufacturers own plants.
If this plan is carried out it would
find the industry turning to re-
tooling operations earlier than ever
before in its history. 1t does not
necessarily follow, however. that
new models would be brought out
any earlier; the new equipment
would be stored until the customary
period for bringing it into use.
Capacity Never Tested.
1t long has been said of the mo-
torcar industry that its production
capacity never has been fully tested.
When it produced 100000 vehicles
in 1929 it possessed equipment for
nearly twice that volume In April
of that year its assembly lines rolled
out 663,811 units, the highest single
months output the industry ever
attained.
There may not be quite the same
degree of f1eXibility at present, but
if the manufacturers anticipated
any interruption to normal output
in the near future they could pile up
a surplus of 1941 model vehicles in
very few weeks.
1t still is probable that after the
present backlog of untitled orders
has been satisfied a reserve" stock
may be built up. There is no indi-
cation right now, however, that it
will be of unusual size.
Halfway through the model year
just ended the industry had a sur
plus of new cars in transit or in
storage aggregating more than 400,-
900 units. The supply dwindled
rapidly, nevertheless, in the rush of
buying that developed with the first
announcement that the national de-
fense program would call heavily
upon the automobile industry.
The trade was inclined to regard
that flood of buyer demand as based
upon fears that car production would
be impaired by the defense require
ments. The new model introduction
on schedule time allayed some of
that apprehension, but retail de-
mand has held up strongly, with
every indication, say the manufac-
turers, that it will be further stimu-
lated as employment on the re-
armament program increases pur-
chasing capacity.