We welcome you to JobBank USA and hope your job hunting experience
is a pleasant one. We hope you find our resources useful.
July , 2007
The U.S. auto industry would add jobs and consumers would save $61 billion annually at the gas pump if fuel-economy standards were raised to 35 miles per gallon, a scientists' group said.
"A 35-mpg standard means billions of dollars helping to create more U.S. jobs," David Friedman, research director at the Union of Concerned Scientists in Cambridge, Massachusetts, said at a news conference today.
Creating a 35-mpg rule by 2018 would force automakers including General Motors Corp., Toyota Motor Corp., and Ford Motor Co. to invest in new technologies and machinery, the group said. The U.S. economy would gain 241,000 jobs in 2020, according to the scientists.
The study may strengthen the case of legislators who are pushing stricter rules, over the auto industry's objections, to reduce emissions and lessen the nation's dependence on oil imports. Most automakers contend the proposed standards are unrealistic and will lead to job losses.
About 23,900 U.S. auto-industry jobs would be created in 2020, the report said. The total is now below 1 million. The jobs forecast was done by MRG & Associates, a consulting firm in Madison, Wisconsin, based on data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Detroit automakers GM, Ford and Chrysler are losing business by not offering more fuel-efficient vehicles, said Adam Lee, president of Lee Auto Malls in Topsham, Maine, in a statement issued by the scientists.
"The least-efficient pickups and SUVs that the Detroit 3 bet their -- and my future on -- are not selling," Lee said. "If we had a Jeep hybrid or a Ford Focus with a diesel hybrid, we would have customers lining up to buy one.''
Industry Response
Raising fuel-economy standards "could undermine jobs and economic health,'' Charles Territo, a spokesman for the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, said in an e-mail. The group's members include Toyota and the Detroit companies.
Territo cited six reports, including a June 25 analysis by Lehman Brothers Inc., that said stringent rules would force automakers to build smaller, less-profitable cars and "undermine auto jobs.''
"While we agree that improving fuel economy is important, we share Wall Street's concern that fuel-economy increases that attempt to go too far too fast could have a devastating economic impact on the manufacturers, suppliers and most importantly consumers,'' he said.
Under a Senate energy bill approved last month, mileage standards for cars and light trucks would rise to 35 mpg by 2020. Some lawmakers, including Massachusetts Democrat Edward Markey and Pennsylvania Republican Todd Platts, may push for a tougher measure in the House of Representatives.
Energy Bill
Lawmakers will add fuel-economy standards to an energy bill under consideration, Maryland Democrat Steny Hoyer, House Majority Leader told reporters in his office today.
"It's my view that any energy bill that goes to the president will include'' fuel-economy standards similar to the Senate's version, he said.
John Snow, chairman of Cerberus Capital Management LP, said the current fuel-economy and emission proposals would ``sink'' the U.S. auto industry. Cerberus, a New York private-equity firm, plans to complete its purchase of 80.1 percent of Chrysler this month.
The current corporate average fuel-economy standard is 27.5 mpg for cars and 21.6 mpg for light trucks.
Email This Page!