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To: yard_man who wrote (165457)	5/13/2002 1:39:05 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Respond to of 436258

tippet have you calculate the value of US RE ? now compare that value to the trade deficit ....... if it is below 5% then we are in clear skies <GGG> EUR/USD 0.9110

To: yard_man who wrote (165457)	5/13/2002 2:27:00 PM
From: Haim R. Branisteanu	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 436258

German Strikes Hit Carmakers; Lasting Effects Questioned By Beth Demain Reigber Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)--Strikes by Germany's metals and electronics union Monday again stopped production at some big carmakers' factories and raised questions anew about potential long-term damage to the companies. Strikes over a wage dispute entered their second week, with 4,500 IG Metall employees in the eastern German states of Berlin and Brandenburg walking out of seven plants. They joined union employees in Baden-Wuerttemberg, who began rolling, one-day walkouts last Monday. Some 53,000 workers in that southwestern state were on strike Monday. Each day of strikes costs big-name carmakers and their suppliers millions of euros. While many industry analysts say carmakers will probably erase the lost production with extra shifts later in the year, some expressed concern about the effects if the labor dispute stretches on. Prolonged strikes could also cause job losses and irreparable damage to smaller suppliers, hurting Germany's nascent economic recovery. For those saying there's no reason to panic, they note carmakers like DaimlerChrysler also receive warning days in advance of a strike at one of their plants. That way, the carmaker can warn suppliers, averting chaos that could potentially arise if the 1,400 trucks that bring parts each day arrived without a place to unload, said a person familiar with the situation. Thus forewarned, DaimlerChrysler can make extra parts and deliver them to plants that need them before the strikes hit, allowing production to continue smoothly at some plants, though that may not work everywhere. And several car companies said so far, they haven't been noticeably hurt by strikes at their suppliers. Because of "just-in-time" production, which depends on parts arriving as a car is built, some experts had speculated strikes at suppliers could be the biggest blow to hit carmakers. VDA, the German car manufacturers' association, estimates strikes last week at plants belonging to Porsche AG (G.POR), DaimlerChrysler and Audi eliminated about EUR93 million in revenues for those companies. Strikes this Monday cost about EUR4.25 million in Berlin and Brandenburg, estimated Eckehart Rotter, press spokesman at VDA. They squeezed revenues of about EUR50 million from the companies affected in Baden-Wuerttemberg, Rotter said. Specifically, a number of key plants were hit by the strikes in Berlin and Brandenburg Monday. About 800 workers stayed away from a plant owned by DaimlerChrysler (DCX), where the carmaker assembles motors but no cars. Also affected were a plant owned Alstom SA's unit Alstom Power Service (ALS), ZF Brandenburg, two of Bombardier Inc.'s (BBD.A) Bombardier Transportation GmbH and Bombardier Propulsion plants, a Babcock Borsig GmbH (G.BBX) plant and an Otis GmbH plant. Plants affected in Baden-Wuerttemberg Monday included those owned by DaimlerChrysler and Audi and various small and medium-sized suppliers, such as Delphi Packard GmbH and Delphi Automotive Systems, Robert-Bosch GmbH (G.BOS), Magna Eybl GmbH, Mahle Logistik GmbH, ART Antriebs- und Regeltechnik GmbH, Heidelberger Finishing GmbH and Still Wagner GmbH. IG Metall is using one-day rotating walkouts aimed at specific companies all along the production chain in the two regions to force employers to give a 4% wage hike to the 2.7 million workers it represents. Employers have countered with a 3.3% pay rise offered over 15 months and payments of EUR190 per worker for two months. Union members voted to strike two weeks ago after rejecting that offer. Though the union, which negotiates wage agreements on a region-by-region basis, isn't looking to cripple production nationwide with broader strikes, some are concerned of possible lasting effects on the auto sector and broader economy anyway. "Of course we worry," Rotter said. The uncertain economic situation in Germany, compounded by the ongoing wage dispute, is one cause of slipping demand for cars in Germany, he said. VDA Monday said new car registrations in Germany in April fell 4% from March in seasonally adjusted terms. VDA Web site: vda.de Company Web sites: daimlerchrysler.com audi.com