ABOUT LEVEL FIELD

Methodology and Sources


U.S. Employment Industry use of job statistics varies. Some companies count North American employment and do not break out U.S. jobs, while others do. Some companies count employees at dealerships, while others do not. Some apply job "multipliers" to demonstrate that company's complete job footprint. Some companies have updated their job counts for 2007, while other companies and trade associations use 2005 or 2006 data.

Total foreign automaker employment of 103,000 is taken from fact sheets from the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers (AIAM) website (as of October 2007). AIAM's figures are generally consistent with Contribution of the International Auto Sector to the U.S. Economy: an Update (March 2005), a study conducted by the Center for Automotive Research (CAR) and sponsored by AIAM. Our 2010 estimate is based on AIAM projections, as well as press recent statements on job cuts and new hiring by VW, Toyota, Honda and others.

Total manufacturing-related employment for Honda, Toyota and Nissan is based on their respective websites (October 2007), press materials and Japan Automobile Manufacturers Association (JAMA) report New Plants, New Jobs, New Vehicles (September 2006). Total manufacturing-related employment estimates for Hyundai, BMW and VW are based on their respective websites and press materials (as of October 2007). We project their 2010 employment by combining current totals with estimated employment at announced facilities.

Total 2007 manufacturing-related employment for Ford, GM and Chrysler is based on their respective corporate websites, annual reports and press accounts. GM and Ford have announced they will cut 34,000 and between 25,000 and 30,000 hourly workers, respectively, by 2008. Each is making cuts on a rolling basis, based on plant closing and buyout schedules. GM has announced salary cuts of approximately 2,500, while Ford has announced cost reductions equal to the salary of one-third of its salaried employees. Level Field subtracts these cuts from the companies' 2005 employment, after accounting for the return of Visteon and Delphi employees to their former jobs at Ford and GM, respectively. Chrysler has announced reductions of approximately 11,000 workers, approximately 9,000 of which are in the U.S. Adjustments for additional buyouts associated with new UAW agreements will be made as details are announced.

"Spinoff" employment refers to jobs at suppliers and other companies that directly serve automakers, as well as those working for businesses supported by the spending of the autoworkers. In recent CAR studies sponsored by the Association of International Automobile Manufacturers and the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers, spinoff employment is obtained by multiplying manufacturing jobs by 9.4.

Level Field's "jobs per car" scores are obtained by dividing the total number of cars sold by an automaker in the U.S. by the company's U.S. workforce. Measuring an automaker's contribution in this way allows consumers accounts for the research, design, engineering and management jobs that tend to be overlooked by simply counting assembly plants. It also accounts for market share (i.e., VW employs fewer Americans than GM, but it also sells a lot fewer cars).

Level Field does not count jobs at dealerships in our analysis, unless specified.

Plants and Major Facilities Industry use of "plants" varies widely. Some companies count only assembly plants, while others include "production facilities" that can include engine, transmission, stamping, casting and forging. Level Field counts "assembly plants" as identified in Ward's Automotive Group North America '08 Model Vehicle Final Assembly Plant Locations.

R & D Spending and Facilities Statistics relating to R&D spending at Ford, GM and Chrysler are from their respective corporate websites, materials provided by the Automotive Trade Policy Council and the National Science Foundation's Survey of Federal Funds for Research and Development and April 2007 InfoBrief report. Statistics relating to automotive R&D employment and facilities in Michigan are from Michigan Economic Development Corporation. The state's figures include firms doing business on behalf of foreign automakers, as well as foreign automaker offices. The state's figures are generally consistent with data compiled by the Center for Automotive Research. JAMA identifies 3,600 employees working at 36 R&D facilities nationwide.

Domestic Content, U.S. Auto Parts Purchases, Parts Supplier Jobs Level Field estimates on the size of the U.S. auto parts market are based on statements by the automakers and their trade associations. Most purchase estimates relate to 2005 or 2006. Sales-weighted domestic content figures are based on (1) vehicle-specific content data provided by the automakers themselves to the U.S. government, and (2) 2006 and 2007 sales figures, as reported by Automotive News. Many automakers have submitted incomplete domestic content reports to the U.S. government for the 2005, 2006 and 2007 model years. In these cases, Level Field uses adjacent year data, where appropriate.

Investments in Facilities Total automotive industry investment data from 1980 to 2005 is taken from the Automotive Trade Policy Council's The Economic Contribution of the U.S. Auto Industry (2007).

Industry investment from 1998 to 2003 is from CAR "Book of Deals," as reported in CAR's The Auto Industry Moving South: an Examination of Trends (2003). For that report's methodology, see www.cargroup.org.

Estimates on the number of Americans employed by auto parts suppliers vary. Most industry associations use CAR's estimate that suppliers employed 783,000 in 2004. (see Contribution of the Motor Vehicle Supplier Sector to the Economies of the United States and its 50 States, January 2007)