Industrial Heating

32 MAY 2015 ■ IndustrialHeating.com

J

anuary 2015 marked the best January in terms of U.S.
vehicle sales in nine years. General Motors, To y o t a , Ford
and Nissan all reported at least a 15% increase in sales from
January 2014. Auto sales were on pace (as of this writing)
for their best Februar y since 2002. More importantly, Februar y
marked the 12 th consecutive month of year-over-year gains. A
broader outlook is even more positive. U.S. vehicle sales in 2014
increased nearly 6% from 2013, marking the fifth consecutive
year of growth, and North American vehicle production
increased 5.5% to slightly more than 17.4 million units.

Automotive Industry
So, what does the future hold? Wel l, at least one report predicts
sales of more than 17 million this year, with the potential of 20
million in 2018.
Let ’s take a quick look at one of the “Big Three”
automakers. Ford reported a 15% sales increase in January
2015 compared to January 2014. Januar y ’s performance was
the company’s best since 2004. Ford ’s success selling cars
is having a positive impact when it comes to adding jobs
and investing in its facilities. Early last year, Ford invested
$500 million to upgrade its Lima Engine Plant in Ohio, a

project that added 300 new jobs. The company hired 300

new employees and invested $129 million in its Louisville

Assembly Plant in August 2014. More recently, Ford

announced that it will ramp up production of the all-new

F-150 and add 1,550 new jobs across four facilities in the first

quarter of 2015.

These types of investments ultimately have a direct impact

on the thermal-processing industry. A look at news from

around the industry last year sheds some light. Chrysler,

for example, installed a continuous-belt copper brazing and

bright-annealing furnace line in October. An automotive

parts manufacturer in Mexico ordered three temper ovens;

a Canadian parts supplier ordered a universal batch-quench

heat-treatment facility; and a supplier of engine and chassis

components ordered an induction hardening system.

The bottom line is this: Good news from the auto industry is

good news for heat-treat equipment manufacturers. But that ’s

not all. The surge in auto sales and vehicle production is also a

boon for aluminum and steel companies.

Perhaps the biggest news of 2014 came from American

Specialty Alloys, which plans to build a $1.2 billion, state-of-

the-art, aluminum mini-mill in the southeastern U.S. It would

supply more than 600,000 tons per year of aluminum, f lat-

rolled product to the automotive industry. Aleris is investing

$350 million to upgrade its Kentucky rolling mill, which

will produce 480 million pounds of aluminum auto-body

sheet annually when fully operational. Meanwhile, the SMS

Group partnered with Big River Steel to build a steel mill in

Mississippi Count y, Ark., that would supply advanced high-

strength steels (AHSS) for the automotive industry.

COVER FEATURE

SINTERING/POWDER

METALLURGY

AUTOMOTIVE

Industry Overview

3D Printing, Sintering Play a Role in Vehicle Manufacture

Bill Mayer – Managing Editor,
Industrial Heating

It ’s no secret that the automotive industry is vital to the
U.S. economy. And it ’s no surprise that this market plays
a signi cant role in the success of the thermal-processing
industry – from aluminum and steel suppliers to equipment
manufacturers to heat treaters. All that said, it ’s a good thing
all signs appear to show that the U.S. automotive industry is
heading toward a strong 2015 and beyond.