Consumer Confidential: Manufacturing up, car sales up, Nissan steering probed
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Here’s your take-me-to-the-river Tuesday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:
--In the latest sign that the U.S. economy is feeling its oats, manufacturing unexpectedly rose in January at the fastest pace in more than six years. The latest statistics from the Institute for Supply Management suggest that manufacturers may be more willing to hire as sales pick up. ‘Businesses have figured out the economic recovery has legs so they’re growing more confident about expanding production and new orders and increasing hiring,’ John Silva, chief economist at Wells Fargo Securities, tells Bloomberg. ‘Manufacturing is making a very decent contribution to growth.’
--Another sunny sign: Car sales keep rising. General Motors says its January sales rose 22% to 178,896 vehicles. Ford says its sales climbed 13% to 127,317 vehicles. Based on preliminary data, analysts estimate that the auto industry sold cars an annual rate of as much as 12.5 million in January. The industry sold about 11.6 million vehicles in 2010. The thinking is that consumers are finally making vehicle purchases they’d been contemplating for a while but had put off for economic reasons. Apparently such apprehension is now in the rear-view mirror.
--But all’s not well on the car front. The government is investigating the Nissan Pathfinder and Infiniti QX4 sport utility vehicles over reports of corrosion that can lead to the loss of steering. The probe covers about 400,000 vehicles, including Pathfinders from the 1996-2004 model years and QX4s from the 1997-2003 model years. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration says it has received 35 reports of corrosion leading to a failure of the driver’s side front strut tower, which affects the vehicle’s alignment. A failure of the strut tower could affect the steering column and make it more difficult to control the vehicle. Nissan says it’s ‘committed to customer safety and the quick, effective resolution of safety issues and will work closely with NHTSA to investigate this issue.’
-- David Lazarus
