General Motors Dethroned / Suez Canal Record

Since 1931 General Motors has been the top-selling automaker in the US, however the Cadillac maker has lost its shine. Last year Toyota became the number one automaker in the country, marking the first time on record that a foreign car manufacturer has topped the list. Last year the Japanese giant sold over 2.3 million vehicles in the US, 10% more than 2020 and nearly 115,000 more than its rival. Sales of GM vehicles dropped nearly 13% to 2.2 million following a 43% drop in the final quarter, with the usually popular Chevrolet Silverado pick-up truck suffering a massive 30% drop in sales.

Toyota’s success is to be attributed to its global supply-chain preparation and stockpiling, especially semiconductor chips, where shortages gripped not just the automotive industry, but affected all industries globally. However, Toyota believes it will be difficult to maintain its position as number one once supply-chain issues are resolved and expects competitors to regain ground.

The reason Toyota took a different path to the rest of the industry and moved away from just-in-time manufacturing processes and started to stockpile more parts was the impact the 2011 tsunami had on the car maker. Since then, they have stockpiled more parts, so have been able to better weather the supply bottlenecks that Covid caused and in turn deliver more cars.

We also read that Ford announced it will almost double production capacity of its upcoming electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck to 150,000 vehicles a year by mid-2023 in response to customer demand. Both Ford and GM have said they will invest heavily on electric vehicles and autonomous technologies through 2025, with a combined total of nearly USD60bn.

Away from automobiles, on to ships. Egypt's Suez Canal Authority reported that despite the giant container ship Ever Given blocking the Suez Canal for several days last year, a record number of vessels used the Canal in 2021. Nearly 20,700 ships, with over 1.25 billion tons of cargo, passed through the narrow waterway that connects the Red Sea and the Mediterranean, nearly 10% more than in 2020.
 
Fixed Income Team