Evening star., 1946-08-27

were said to find coathangers more
profitable than springs.
One company told of sending out
a car with 10 items missing. Cars
without metal bumpers, of course
are commonplace and quite few
are delivered without back seats
Frank Rising, head of the Automo-
/ tive and Aircraft Parts Manufac-
Iturers Association, said he doubted
If bumper makers ever caught up
with demand.
A developing problem threaten
ing production in coming weeks is
shortage of lead for soldering and
other purposes. CPA said it is
caused by a manufacturers strike
against prices.
Sheet Steel Problem.
Sheet steel has been a problem
since reconversion began All of
steel production is running well
above prewar levels, but is far short
of demands and threatening to drop
because of the scrap and pig iron
supply.
Illustrativ of the shoe string
nature of auto producers supplies,
the Hudson Co. in Detroit and
Studebaker at South Bend, Ind,
were forced to close for more than
week recently because of a strike
in Toledo of the Dura division of
Detroit Harvester Co. The company
supplied door handles, window reg
ulators and other interior hard
ware for the two and other COM
panies.
Ford currently lists strikes at 18
outside plants supplying them with
bolts. ball bearings, piston rings,
wheel rims and other things includ-
ing even castor oil, used for treating
artificial leather. Several of the
stopages are months old and most
involve the UAW.
Ford has had no strikes at any of
its own plants, but has been forced
to stop operations several times and
now is plodding along at half speed
for one reason or another.
Studebaker likewise has been free
Of strikes. However, it lists 2S out
side stoppages which it says has
seriously affected production since
VI day.
So Supplier Strikes.
General Motors, completely closed
for nearly four months earlier, says
it is affected by SO supplier strikes,
20 OF which have lasted for more
than 60 days. The UAW is involved
IN only IT,
Most companies reported decline
in number of supply strikes. In
May GIN listed well over 100.
Mr.. Rising's parts association rep
resents AIT companies employing
100000 workers. He said the firms
make 80 per cent of the original
automobile parts. He said there were
only about 20 strikes current among
his members.
He blames low-volume automobile
output on % strikes which drained
manufacturers supply pipelines,
from effects of which they have not
recovered and q the inability, so
far, OF the country's greatest mass
production industry to recover pre-
war productivity and efficiency.
The key to American mass-pro-
duction genius" he says, lis getting
everything at the right place at the
right time. The car makers haven't
been able to do this. the peacetime
production machine became rusty in
war days and manufacturers haven't
been able to recover the touch. The
whole fault is not labor's. The prob
lem of restoring efficiency and labor
productivity would have been great
even without strikes"
Pessimistic on Prices.
Mr.. Rising was pessimistic. He said
the auto industry is not pulling out
of their slump" and that the prices
OF cars have been forced beyond
the reach Of people who make up
the mass Of the market
While the industry is on a theo-
retical 40-hour week, actual time
worked is far under that. The car
makers refused to divulge the length
OF the actual work-week at present,
but Michigan labor department fig
ures show that in June the average
was only 28 hours.
The workers, naturally, didn't fare
well IN June, averaging only s40.23
a week. In June, 1945, when the
hourly rate was at least 1872 cents
less, earnings averaged $54.94 and
hours per week 42.7. Mr.. Rising es-
tlmated the present work week in
parts plants at from IS to SO hours
TomorroU: Industry in CHICAGO