Mexico’s auto production falls nearly 38 percent

August 28th, 2009 Lukoil's Q2 net profit down 44 percentMOSCOW — Lukoil, Russia's largest private oil company, on Friday posted a 44 percent drop in net profit for the second quarter due to lower oil prices, but still beat analyst expectations. Net income fell to $2.3 billion from $4.1 billion a year earlier, the company said in a statement.

August 18th, 2009 Mexico's VW workers declare strike for higher payPUEBLA, Mexico — Workers at Volkswagen AG's plant in Mexico — the only one in the world turning out the company's trademark new Beetle — went on strike Tuesday after negotiations for a salary increase collapsed. The union, which represents 9,400 workers, rejected the company's offer of a 1 percent pay increase starting in February and one-time bonus of 5,500 pesos ($425), union spokesman Arturo Monter said.

August 12th, 2009 BRUSSELS - Industrial production in the 16-nation euro area posted a monthly decline of 0.6 percent in June and plummeted by 17 percent when compared to the same month last year, data released Wednesday showed. The European Union statistics office (Eurostat) said month-on-month output in the 27-member European Union also fell, by 0.2 percent.

July 30th, 2009 Japan first-half auto production plunges on yearTOKYO — Production at Japan's automakers plunged 45 percent in the first half, marking the first such fall in eight years, an industry group said Thursday. Japanese auto production totaled 3.32 million vehicles for the January-June period, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said.

July 20th, 2009 Johnson Controls income falls 63 percent in 3QMILWAUKEE — Johnson Controls says its fiscal third-quarter earnings fell 63 percent, even though the auto parts and building products maker cut costs to control expenses amid weakened economic conditions. The Milwaukee-based company posted income of $163 million, or 26 cents per share, compared with $439 million, or 73 cents per share, in the same quarter a year ago.

July 15th, 2009 German manufacturing work force shrinksBERLIN — The German manufacturing sector's work force decreased by 2.3 percent in the year to May, its sharpest decline in five years, government data showed Wednesday. Germany's export-dependent economy sank into recession last year as the global downturn dried up demand for its manufactured goods.

July 9th, 2009 China's June auto sales up 36.5 percentBEIJING — China's auto sales soared 36.5 percent in June from a year earlier to 1.14 million vehicles, boosted by government incentives, an industry group said Thursday. Passenger car sales hit a monthly high of 872,900 units, the China Association of Automobile Manufactures said.

July 7th, 2009 German iron, steel output falls 45 percentFRANKFURT — German iron and steel output for June fell sharply as the world recession continued to cut into demand for the country's machinery and car exports, the Federal Statistical Office reported Tuesday. The Wiesbaden-based office said Germany's producers made 1.44 million metric tons (1.59 US tons) of iron for the month, a 45 percent decline over the same month last year, while they made 2.5 million metric tons (2.76 US tons) of steel, a 41 percent decline.

June 29th, 2009 Japan auto production falls for 8th straight monthTOKYO — Japan's auto production fell for the eighth straight month in May, plummeting 41.4 percent from a year earlier, as the nation's top industry continued to be hammered by the global slowdown. Japan produced 542,282 vehicles in May, the Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association said Monday in a monthly report.

June 25th, 2009 Japan auto production tumbles again in MayTOKYO — Global production at Japan's top automakers tumbled in May, hit by a lingering slump in demand and uncertainty over a recovery in the battered industry. Toyota Motor Corp., the world's biggest carmaker, said Thursday its worldwide output dropped 38.8 percent from a year earlier to 442,621 vehicles — the 10th straight monthly decline.

May 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's industrial output fell for the third consecutive month in March by a steep 2.3 percent compared to the corresponding month last year, according to government data released Tuesday. This was the third fall in four months.

April 22nd, 2009 Mexico oil output drops to 2.67 million barrelsMEXICO CITY — Crude production at Mexico's state-owned oil company dropped by about 8 percent in the first quarter of 2009 compared to the same period the year before amid declining reserves, the company said Tuesday. Oil production in the first three months of this year averaged 2.67 million barrels a day, down from 2.91 million barrels a day in the same period of 2008, said Petroleos Mexicanos in statement.

April 22nd, 2009 Mining giant BHP Billiton reports lower productionSYDNEY — Global mining giant BHP Billiton on Wednesday reported a sharp drop in quarterly copper production, along with declines in iron ore and aluminum, as demand for minerals falls amid the global economic slump. Copper production was down 14 percent in the three months ended March 31 compared to the same period last year, the Melbourne-based company said in a statement.

March 12th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India's industrial production fell 0.5 percent in January to log a decline for the second month in a row, despite the stimulus packages announced by the government to pump prime the economy in the wake of the global slowdown. The slide, based on the official data on index of industrial production released by the industry ministry Thursday, was on account of a 0.8 percent drop in manufacturing index and a 0.4 percent fall in the index for mining.

February 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - After a marginal recovery in November, India's industrial production fell 2 percent the next month with no signs of abatement in the impact of the global meltdown on the country's economy. Data on the Index of Industrial Production (IIP) released Thursday also showed that the index for manufacturing, that has the maximum weight, fell 2.5 percent, versus 8.6 percent in the like month of previous fiscal.