Dear Sir or Madame-
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In this May 26, 2010 Publication:
Economists Predict 3.2% GDP Growth In 2010
NAM Coalition of Interveners Files
Statement of Issue
Ford To Invest $135 Million In
Electric Vehicle Development
Manufacturing Matters – Participate in
the Annual Shipment Census
A Study of “Greener” Finishes for Die Castings
Economists Predict 3.2% GDP Growth In 2010
The AP (5/25, Carpenter) reports, "Economists expect the pace of US economic growth to
pick up in the year ahead as consumers and businesses spend more, according to the latest survey by The
National Association for Business Economics. ... The outlook amounts to an encouraging report on the
economy at nearly the one-year mark of the recovery, which these experts date to June 2009, when the
recession hit bottom." The AP adds that "the panel of forecasters boosted its expectations for growth in
2010 to 3.2% real gross domestic product, up from 3.1% in its February outlook. It also pegged the 2011
growth rate at 3.2%." The NABE "survey of 46 professional forecasters was taken April 27 to May 7."
NAM Coalition of Interveners Files Statement of Issue
On May 19, NADCA along with the 20 other members of the National Association of Manufacturers coalition of
interveners submitted a non-binding statement of issues to the United States Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia. This document concisely states what issues the coalition would like to address in
the hearing. Four points are presented that closely match the NAM statement of issue. These issues
clearly outline a desire to show that the EPA did not follow the Clean Air Act (CAA) when it published its
endangerment finding.
The coalition is not trying to debate the validity of current climate science or climate predictions.
Instead the coalition will seek to show that the EPA did not fully adequately consider the thousands of
comments made by manufacturers to the endangerment finding proposal. In addition, the EPA outsourced much
of the work to show the threat of greenhouse gases.
NADCA became involved in this petition because the Endangerment Finding will trigger greenhouse gas
regulations on stationary sources. Under a strict reading of the CAA, the EPA will have to regulate all
sources that emit more than 250 tons of greenhouse gases per year. This threshold includes the vast
majority of die casting plants in the United States. For full text of the statement, click here.
Ford To Invest $135 Million In Electric Vehicle Development
The Detroit Free Press (5/25, Gardner) reports Ford Motor Co. announced Monday it is
spending "$135 million to design, engineer and produce key components for the company's next generation of
hybrid-electric vehicles that go into production in 2012." The investment "will result in a combined 170
jobs at the company's Rawsonville and Van Dyke Transmission plants, as well as more than 50 electric
vehicle engineers."
The AP (5/25, Krisher) reports that one of the two factories, "which now makes auto parts,
will get $10 million of investment to build battery packs, creating about 40 new jobs. The packs are now
assembled by Delphi Corp. in Mexico. Ford will get its advanced lithium-ion battery cells from a parts
supplier that it would not identify. The Sterling Heights transmission factory will get a $125 million
investment and 130 new jobs to build the continuously variable hybrid transmissions now built in Japan."
Manufacturing Matters – Participate in the Annual Shipment Census
NADCA developed a system of tracking annual shipment pounds of die castings. NADCA annually collects the same data
yearly to allow us to provide valuable information to you and our politicians. This is an annual industry census
recording shipment trends from year to year. The Department of Commerce stopped collecting this data a few years
ago.
This census is for North American Die Casters only. To enter your company's data, please visit www.diecasting.org/shipments/all by May 31st.
A Study of “Greener” Finishes for Die Castings
At the 2006 Metalcasting Congress, the International Lead Zinc Research Organization delivered a
presentation on an interesting accelerated corrosion test, the CAMRI test — which appears to represent
real-world performance more accurately than the ASTM B117 salt spray test or ASTM G85 cyclic fog test —
and tested the corrosion resistance of a range of organic and inorganic coatings for zinc die castings.
A follow up of that earlier study with a special focus on modern environmentally-friendly finishing
approaches, including finishes for zinc die castings, was suggested which might allow die castings to
supplant more expensive and less environmentally friendly metals. Additionally, the follow-up study would
offer an opportunity to do some follow-up testing of the most promising finishes from the earlier study,
and to test alternate approaches toward achieving the looks that consumers are seeking today like bronze
and the stainless steel look. To read an interim report on that study, click here to login and read this month’s
issue of Die Casting Engineer.
