American Axle & Manufacturing, Inc. (AAM) (NYSE: AXL), headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is a manufacturer of automobile driveline and drivetrain components and systems. AAM was founded in 1994 when a private investor group, led by Richard E. "Dick" Dauch and James W. McLernon, purchased the Final Drive and Forge Business Unit from GM's Saginaw Division. In 1999, AAM went public, and is traded as "AXL" on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). AAM has grown to supply various OEM manufacturers around the globe in the passenger car, light truck, and commercial vehicle segments.
AAM's World Headquarters building, erected in 2004, is located on the Detroit/Hamtramck border.
Distribution strategy
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. today announced the launch of its new business-to-business (B2B) portal, an interactive window through which it will more efficiently and effectively communicate and transact with its associates, customers, suppliers, investors, and the media.
The new American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) portal, which can be entered through the redesigned "aam.com" website, will be unveiled to AAM associates today at the company's Detroit Open House 2000. More than 10,000 people (AAM associates and their families) from the Metro Detroit area are expected to attend the event, which will showcase AAM's facilities, technology, products, processes and systems.
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings booked 2010 operating income of US$204.1m, or 8.9% of sales of US$2.28bn which were up 50% year on year.
Dana Holding Corp. said Tuesday it completed a deal for the rights to distribute truck and bus steering axles now made by a company in South America.
The Maumee, Ohio-based auto parts supplier said it bought the rights from SIFCO S.A., adding the commercial vehicle axles to its product offering in South America and giving it a full line of commercial driveline products there.
"This agreement builds on Dana's deep manufacturing and engineering expertise in this product segment and immediately positions Dana as the leading provider of full system driveline solutions to our customers," Mark Wallace, president of the Dana Heavy Vehicle Products Group, said in a statement.
Dana said the deal is part of its emerging markets strategy that included a recent joint venture investment announcement in China.
Under the SIFCO deal, Dana got distribution rights for commercial vehicle steering axle systems and now has responsibility for marketing, sales, engineering and assembly. The company will serve Agrale, Ford, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo and other customers in the region.
American Axle, which relies on General Motors Co. for 75% of its sales, reported profit of $16.3 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a loss of $32.7 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 30% to $521.9 million.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Simonte said the axle maker is benefiting from downsizing.
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Fabrizio Costantini for The Wall Street Journal
American Axle & Manufacturing's first-quarter profit provided further evidence of an auto-industry recovery.
"We are seeing the results we expected after cutting our fixed costs by 50% over the past two years," Mr. Simonte said in an interview. "We are optimistic about the improving economy, but we know it is fragile."
Gross margin, or the difference between the cost of producing products and the price received for them, widened to 16.7% from 6.7% because of the restructuring.
Visteon, which filed for bankruptcy protection nearly a year ago and is still struggling to exit from Chapter 11, said earnings rose to $233 million, or $1.79 a share, from $2 million, or two cents a share. The latest quarter included a $237 million gain from the termination of certain postretirement employee benefits. Revenue rose 41% to $1.9 billion.
The supplier rebound is a relief for the U.S. auto industry, which has lost thousands of jobs amid the recession and has suffered through bankruptcy filings by GM and Chrysler Group LLC last year. Parts suppliers were hit equally as hard. Delphi Corp., Dana Corp. and Lear Corp. were among the two dozen that went through bankruptcy. Some, such as Collins & Aikman Corp., were liquidated.
The earnings improvements by American Axle and Visteon follow other solid reports. In the past week, turbocharger maker BorgWarner Inc. swung to a profit and raised its forecast, saying it now expects its 2010 revenue to rise 28% to 32% instead of its previous guidance for a 15% to 19% increase.
AAM's World Headquarters building, erected in 2004, is located on the Detroit/Hamtramck border.
Distribution strategy
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. today announced the launch of its new business-to-business (B2B) portal, an interactive window through which it will more efficiently and effectively communicate and transact with its associates, customers, suppliers, investors, and the media.
The new American Axle & Manufacturing (AAM) portal, which can be entered through the redesigned "aam.com" website, will be unveiled to AAM associates today at the company's Detroit Open House 2000. More than 10,000 people (AAM associates and their families) from the Metro Detroit area are expected to attend the event, which will showcase AAM's facilities, technology, products, processes and systems.
American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings booked 2010 operating income of US$204.1m, or 8.9% of sales of US$2.28bn which were up 50% year on year.
Dana Holding Corp. said Tuesday it completed a deal for the rights to distribute truck and bus steering axles now made by a company in South America.
The Maumee, Ohio-based auto parts supplier said it bought the rights from SIFCO S.A., adding the commercial vehicle axles to its product offering in South America and giving it a full line of commercial driveline products there.
"This agreement builds on Dana's deep manufacturing and engineering expertise in this product segment and immediately positions Dana as the leading provider of full system driveline solutions to our customers," Mark Wallace, president of the Dana Heavy Vehicle Products Group, said in a statement.
Dana said the deal is part of its emerging markets strategy that included a recent joint venture investment announcement in China.
Under the SIFCO deal, Dana got distribution rights for commercial vehicle steering axle systems and now has responsibility for marketing, sales, engineering and assembly. The company will serve Agrale, Ford, Iveco, MAN, Mercedes-Benz, Scania and Volvo and other customers in the region.
American Axle, which relies on General Motors Co. for 75% of its sales, reported profit of $16.3 million, or 22 cents a share, compared with a loss of $32.7 million, or 59 cents, a year earlier. Revenue jumped 30% to $521.9 million.
Chief Financial Officer Michael Simonte said the axle maker is benefiting from downsizing.
View Full Image
Fabrizio Costantini for The Wall Street Journal
American Axle & Manufacturing's first-quarter profit provided further evidence of an auto-industry recovery.
"We are seeing the results we expected after cutting our fixed costs by 50% over the past two years," Mr. Simonte said in an interview. "We are optimistic about the improving economy, but we know it is fragile."
Gross margin, or the difference between the cost of producing products and the price received for them, widened to 16.7% from 6.7% because of the restructuring.
Visteon, which filed for bankruptcy protection nearly a year ago and is still struggling to exit from Chapter 11, said earnings rose to $233 million, or $1.79 a share, from $2 million, or two cents a share. The latest quarter included a $237 million gain from the termination of certain postretirement employee benefits. Revenue rose 41% to $1.9 billion.
The supplier rebound is a relief for the U.S. auto industry, which has lost thousands of jobs amid the recession and has suffered through bankruptcy filings by GM and Chrysler Group LLC last year. Parts suppliers were hit equally as hard. Delphi Corp., Dana Corp. and Lear Corp. were among the two dozen that went through bankruptcy. Some, such as Collins & Aikman Corp., were liquidated.
The earnings improvements by American Axle and Visteon follow other solid reports. In the past week, turbocharger maker BorgWarner Inc. swung to a profit and raised its forecast, saying it now expects its 2010 revenue to rise 28% to 32% instead of its previous guidance for a 15% to 19% increase.
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