Summary
Most American wheel manufacturers have disappeared or have downsized, only Hayes-Lemmerz appears to have the long term outlook. Hayes Lemmerz has established its presence in Asia (India, Thailand) and Eastern Europe (Czech Republic, Turkey) and other low cost producing nations to supply Western Europe and North America. Their global strategy is starting to produce positive results.
Analysis
For the first time ever in 2006, over 10% of the wheels supplied to North America assembly plants will be made outside of the NAFTA region, most of them coming from Asia. This rate could double within the next 24 months. The labor and utilities cost in North America will make it prohibitive for other wheel manufacturers to continue with a presence in the NAFTA region.
Wheel manufacturers with presence in Asia, South Africa, Easter Europe are poised to survive in the long term.
