Ford Ranger - Possible Reason For Lack Of New Model

[Perian]

Link: wsj.com

Article deals with looming free trade agreement between the USA and Thailand. The deal would open the US market to Thailand made pickup trucks. Article states that Ford build 155,000 Ranger pickup trucks last year. Article states Ford had no comment on export of same to U.S.

Article quote:

"In the U.S., the United Auto Workers union is also grappling with the prospect of a tough new foreign competitor. Thailand-based companies build more than 500,000 pickups a year, making the country the world's second-largest truck maker. None of those vehicles are exported to the U.S.

"This would have a devastating impact on our members. There are literally tens of thousands of jobs at risk," says Alan Reuther, the UAW's Washington-based legislative director.

The scale of U.S. auto makers' problems was underlined last week when Ford Motor Co. said it would close 14 North American factories and slash as many as 34,000 jobs -- 28% of its North American work force -- over the next six years. General Motors Corp. announced similar plans a month ago.

The U.S. produces more than a million pickup trucks a year. This segment of the U.S. vehicle market employs about 80,000 workers and is protected, in part, by a 25% tariff on imported pickups introduced in the 1960s to retaliate against European duties on U.S. frozen chicken -- and hence nicknamed the "chicken tax."

Thailand could be a formidable competitor if that tax was removed, opening the way for an onslaught of imports, many of them built by Japanese companies such as Toyota Motor Corp., which expects to produce 570,000 cars and trucks here this year. Industry analysts frequently describe Thailand as an offshore subsidiary of Japan's auto industry -- a kind of aircraft carrier from which Japanese vehicles can penetrate the U.S. and other markets without Tokyo having to make its own highly protected agricultural markets more accessible.

But many American companies may stand to gain from a Thai trade deal. For example, Ford and GM could divert some of the pickup trucks they currently make in Thailand for the fast-growing Southeast Asian market to the U.S. if the "chicken tax" is removed. Ford built 155,000 Ranger trucks at its Thai plant last year, and exported them to more than 130 countries, including destinations in South America. But none went to the U.S.

Ford says it is "premature to comment" on whether the U.S. will be added to that list if the tax on pickup trucks is included in the free-trade pact.

The scale and range of Thailand's pickup-making capacity alarms U.S. auto workers' unions. The Asian nation produced more than a million cars and pickup trucks for the first time last year. And Thai Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra has said he wants Thailand to become "the Detroit of the East," increasing annual vehicle production to 1.8 million units by 2010, with 800,000 earmarked for export."

Article continues at link.

[Perian]

Originally Posted by Perian

Ford says it is "premature to comment" on whether the U.S. will be added to that list if the tax on pickup trucks is included in the free-trade pact.

I find it incredibly interesting that the Ford spokesperson didn't just say "No".

In my book "Premature to comment" coupled with a lack of new investment in the American made Ranger sends a definate answer.

Long live the chicken tax.

[Proetus]

There was an article last week that stated Ford's position had changed from "never" a year ago to "possibly" now.

Here's an article from last summer
http://www.aiada.org/article.asp?id=43837

Thailand is the second-largest producer of pickup trucks in the world. The United States currently has a 25 percent tariff on all imported light trucks.

If the tariff were removed on vehicles exported to the United States from Thailand, Japanese and other automakers with assembly plants there could compete much more effectively for American truck buyers.

Meeting with Thai negotiators this past week in Montana in the latest round of bilateral talks, U.S. trade negotiators acknowledged the significance of the issue by reserving discussions on removing the tariff for the most intense final rounds of negotiations, said Rep. Sander Levin, D-Royal Oak, a leader on trade issues in Congress.
....
"It’s very feasible to import the trucks" to the U.S. and make money if the tariff is lifted, said Joe Langley, an auto analyst with CSM Worldwide, a consulting firm in Michigan. "I think Ford would really jump at the chance."

He noted that Ford just invested $500 million in a plant expansion in Thailand and is planning to build a new Ranger there in coming years.

[AdmiralViscen]

In the meantime, lets lose all of our compact truck market share.

Good plan.

[BORG]

Curiously enough, this is a concept for the new Thai Ranger. Looks almost like something that the American market would buy in large numbers .

[01cavalier]

Interesting article, wouldn't surprise me if they are waiting. Too bad they are already losing sales of the Ranger now though.

[BigBadBflo]

Considering the last all new model was in 1993, they did a heck of a job on it. 13 years later and its sales are still competitive, even though it just recently slipped out of first within the last few years.

It is also the last remaining "compact" pickup with everyone else moving more "mid-size". I hope they keep it a true compact regardless of where they build it. I think there will still be a market for this size truck if they price it right, which may mean producing it elsewhere.

They can use the Expoler SportTrac as thie mid-size entry

[johnriley]

I see a link to the wsj, but not the specific article. What is the time frame on "looming trade agreement"?

[1G6]

Ford is getting less likable all the time.

[momo67]

Originally Posted by BORG

Curiously enough, this is a concept for the new Thai Ranger. Looks almost like something that the American market would buy in large numbers .

What do they call it, the Fusion Pickup?

[Snafu_SS]

it may look nice but...its kina sad to think that its becoming less n less economical to produce something in America...and that companies must outsource to stay alive.

all these free trade agreements...what happens when we have no jobs in the united states? we already have enough ppl unemployed...why are we just fueling the fire??!!

[Snafu_SS]

Originally Posted by BigBadBflo

Considering the last all new model was in 1993, they did a heck of a job on it. 13 years later and its sales are still competitive, even though it just recently slipped out of first within the last few years.

It is also the last remaining "compact" pickup with everyone else moving more "mid-size". I hope they keep it a true compact regardless of where they build it. I think there will still be a market for this size truck if they price it right, which may mean producing it elsewhere.

They can use the Expoler SportTrac as thie mid-size entry

the Colorado n Canyon are still compact sized...the Dakota, Tacoma, and Frontier have all moved up n size. i've already read articles bashing the colorado for its small bed and size compared to the big little trucks.

[69Firebird400]

Originally Posted by BORG

Curiously enough, this is a concept for the new Thai Ranger. Looks almost like something that the American market would buy in large numbers .

To me, it looks like a rebodied Explorer SportTrac, or a rebodied Honda Ridgeline. It doesn't look like a "regular" pickup truck IMO. Still, it's an improvement over the Ranger, even if it would almost certainly cannibalize SportTrac sales if sold in this form.

[tkrelston]

Originally Posted by Snafu_SS

it may look nice but...its kina sad to think that its becoming less n less economical to produce something in America...and that companies must outsource to stay alive.

all these free trade agreements...what happens when we have no jobs in the united states? we already have enough ppl unemployed...why are we just fueling the fire??!!

Because we Americans demand the best quality at the lowest cost and have no loyalty to America!

[uujjj]

When all our foreign debt comes due Americans will have no money to buy imports anyway. In a few years those Thai pickups will wind up more expensive than the locally built stuff. Ford is late to the party.