Evening star., 1947-08-03
Auto Industry, Beset
By Shortages, May
Miss 5 Million Goal
By the Associated Press

py the auto industry for l947 prob
ably will not be attained.
This conviction is growing in au-
tomotive circles as the industry con-
tinues to struggle with materials
shortages and labor uncertainties.
These problems loom larger right
now than they have at any time this
year.
1t all means, Of course, that the
day when new automobile may
be bought of the dealers floor still
Is in a very indefinite future.
With July production volume far
below original expectations, the in
dustry's aggregate output for the
first seven months of the year
amounted to approximately 2,026 900
passenger cars and 10000 CONNER
cial units. Thus to reach the hoped
for total the factories would have to
maintain an average of nearly 450,-
600 vehicles a month for the re-
mainder of the year.
~ Million Expected to be Peak,
Few persons in the industry ex-
pect that volume to be achieved in
more than two of the remaining five
months this year Most industry
observers now estimate the years
total production at about $500 900
passenger units and 1,000,00 trucks.
The untitled order backlog still is
mounting faster than cars are being
produced; guesses as to when reas-
onably prompt delivery may be ex-
pected range as far in the future
as 1850. While this seems somewhat
fantastic at this time-more than
two years after peacetime motorcar
manufacturing was resumed-the
industry instead OF making the g..
100000 cars it expected to produce
in that period has assembled only
about 100000.
Along with speculation about fur
ther delay IN retail deliveries auto
motive circles are talking about the
probability of another overall price
increase before the 1948 models 20
into production.
Price Increase No Surprise.
The General Motors Corp. price
increase announced yesterday was
not wholly unexpected although
there was considerable uncertainty
whether others of the big three
Ford and Chrysler-would follow
this action.
Rumor in industry circles has it
that at least one other manufacturer
has decided on price increases and
will announce them shortly. There
has been no indicatic'., however.
that an overall increase throughout
the industry is in immediate pros
pect.
The hope Of avoiding additional
increases on present models, indus
try sources believe, rests largely on
the ability of other auto makers to
make production economies, difficult
to attain In the face of increasing
steel prices, and upon a considerably
greater production volume than has
been possible 50 far this year.
Some Features May Be Withheld.
While production costs will figure
prominently in how far. the car
makers may go in changing their
l948 models, there mas been no in
timation anywhere in industry
quarters that all the proposed alter
ations will be withheld. Generators
with heavier output already are ap-
pearing on some models and they
are regarded as a certainty 6n all
the forthcoming new types.
But there are several other fea-
lures like waterproof ignition sys-
TENS and the more expensive higher
compression powerplants that could
be deferred another model year If
costs threaten to move up too fast.
1t is worthy of note in this con-
nection that with the exception of
Ford, no car manufacturer has made
any specific statements regarding
his 1948 models. Ford has said the
new Ford to be brought out some
time next year" will be different
from any Ford heretofore produced.
At no time this year has the car
industry been able to swing more
than 65 per cent of its production
capacity into operation. Its biggest
single months output since the wars
end was 314,765 cars and 10s, 1884
commercial units produced last
April.
In achieving that high point the
foundries and body plants ate
heavily into their inventories of raw
materials and as q result have had
to work on restricted schedules ever
since.