Ford turns in a Profit?

by Larry Lubell
Just when we were all ready to “Write-Off the entire US Auto Industry, Ford Motor Co, posts a profit.
Granted, the margin was small and was a product of a one-time gain of $3.4 billion conected to Ford’s debt restructuring.
Ford’s restructuring was accomplished by way of Reducing its U.S. hourly workforce by about 1,000, in a deal with the U.A.W. Ford also was able to reduce it’s debt obligations by $10.1 billion; which equates to a savings of nearly $500 million / year in interest payments alone.
.“While the business environment remained extremely challenging around the world, we made significant progress on our transformation plan,” Ford President and CEO Alan Mulally said in a statement.
Ford’s executive vice president and CFO, Lewis Booth, stated, “Ford delivered a very solid quarter, and our transformation plan remains well on track,” “We strengthened our balance sheet, reduced cash outflows and improved our year-over-year financial results despite sharply lower industry volumes.”
While this might not be time to “Pull out the Champaign,” clearly the results represent a major improvement over last year’s reported loss of $8.7 billion. It points to the very real possibility, that if or when, car sales rebound even to average levels; Ford as well as GM and Chrysler, all appear to have a real shot of returning to profitability. It is quite unlikely that US producers will ever regain the dominance in the American market they once took for granted; they might just have a sustainable future.
This is good news, because of the large number of jobs that are dependant of the the US auto industry. From Manufacturing to design, car Insurance, and repair shops just to stratch the service.

Tags: ford, GM