UNITED STATES TARIFF COMMISSION Washington, D.C.
APTA-W-97 TC Publication 203 April 25, 1967
TARIFF COMMISSION SUBMITS REPORT TO Xlik, AUTOMOTIVE AGREEMENT ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE BOARD
IN ADJUSTMENT ASSISTANCE CASE PERTAINING TO CERTAIN WORKERS OF AMERICAN MOTORS CORPORATION 1S
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN PLANT
The Tariff Commission today reported to the Automotive
Agreement Adjustment Assistance Board the results of its investi-
gation No. APTA-W-9, conducted under section 302(e) of the
Automotive Products Trade Act of 1965. The Commission's report
contains factual information for use by the Board, which determines
the eligibility of the workers concerned to apply for adjustment
assistance. The workers in this case were employed in the
• Milwaukee, Wisconsin plant of the American Motors Corporation.
Only certain sections of the Commission's report can be made
public since much of the information it contains was received in
confidence. Publication of such information would result in the
disclosure of certain operations of individual firms. The sections
of the report that can be made public are reproduced on the
. following pages.
U.S. Tariff Commission April 25, 1967
Introduction
In accordance with section 302(e) of the Automotive Products Trade
Act of 1965 (79 Stat. 1016), the U.S. Tariff Commission herein reports
the results of investigation (APTA-W79) concerning the possible dis-
location of certain workers engaged in the production of automobile
bodies at the Milwaukee, Wisconsin plant of the American Motors Corp.
The Commission instituted the investigation on March 8, 1967, upon
receipt on March 6, 1967, of a request for investigation from the Auto-
motive Assistance Committee of the Automotive Agreement Adjustment
Assistance Board. Public notice of the investigation was given in the
Federal Register (32 F.R. 4003) on March 11, 1967.
The Automotive Assistance Committee's request for the investigation
resulted from a petition for determination of eligibility to apply for
adjustment assistance that was filed with the Assistance Board on
February 28, 1967, by the International Union, United Automobile, Aero-
space & Agricultural Implement Workers of America (U.A.W.) and its
Local No. 75, on behalf of a group of workers at the Milwaukee plant of
American Motors Corp. Neither the petitioners nor any other party
requested a hearing before the Commission, and none was held.
The petitioners alleged that the transfer of production of auto-
mdbilesil from the Milwaukee plant to the American Motors Corp. plant
1/ Although the petition refers to automobiles supplied from the Milwaukee plant, the reference probably should have been to automobile bodies, as complete automobiles are not produced at that plant.
in Brampton, Ontario resulted in extensive layoffs at Milwaukee during
the January 1965-January 1967 period--including the permanent layoff of
2,000 workers on January 9, 1967. The petitioners further alleged that
the pre-October 1966 layoffs are attributable to a decrease in the
number of automobiles1/ supplied to the Canadian market from the Milwaukee
plant and that the layoffs beginning in October 1966 were caused by
increased imports into the United States of automobiles produced in
Canada. Both of these developments were attributed to the Automotive
Products Trade Act of 1965 (APIA).
The Commission conducted investigation APTA-W-9 concurrently with
investigation APTA-W-10, relating to the possible dislocation of certain
workers engaged in the production of complete automobiles at American
Motors Corp's., Kenosha, Wisconsin plant. Much of the information
developed in connection with APTA-W-9 is also pertinent to APTA-W-10;
because of significant differences in the two investigations, however,
separate reports have been prepared.
The information reported herein was obtained from American Motors
Corp., the major U.S. automobile manufacturers, the International Union,
U...444, the Commission's files, and through fieldwork by members of the
Commission's staff.
Hereafter in this report the American Motors Corp. is referred to
as AMC.
1/ Substitute "automobile bodies" for "automobiles"; see foOtnote on preceding page.
The automotive product involved--automobile bodies
Built-up bodies for conventional passenger automobiles are the
articles under consideration in this investigation. Such bodies may
be of either unit-body or perimeter-frame construction; they constitute
complete bodies at least to the extent that the major sheet metal com-
ponents have been welded or bolted together. Bodies for special purpose
motor-vehicles, such as the "Jeep" and "Scout", and body components that
are shipped in K-D (knock-down) kits for subsequent assembly are not
included within the scope of this investigation.
Imported automobile bodies are dutiable under item 692.22 of the
Tariff Schedules of the United States at the rate of 6.5 percent ad
valorem; if imported from Canada for use as original motor-vehicle equip-
ment, however, they, are duty-free under item 692.23.
American Motors Corp. and its automotive division
AMC, with headquarters in Detroit, Michigan, is a large corporation
Which had net sales valued at about one billion dollars in each of the
years 1960-66. AMC's predecessor was incorporated in Maryland in 1916
as Nash Motors Co., which, in turn, was the successor to Jeffrey Motor Co.
In 1937 the corporate name was changed to Nash Kelvinator Corp., after
merger with Kelvinator Corp.(a large manufacturer of home appliances).
In 1954 the present name was adopted, after merger with Hudson Motor Co.
4
AMC has two major divisions: Automotive and Appliance. The
Appliance Division produces and sells, under the ".Kelvinator" and
other trade names, major household appliances such as refrigerators,
freezers, dehumidifiers, laundry equipment, ranges and room air-
conditoners. The principal manufacturing facility of this division is
located in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
The Automotive Division operates one plant in Milwaukee and two
in Kenosha, Wisconsin the Main plant and the Lake Front plant), and
one in Brampton, Ontario. Although the workers herein concerned were
employed in the Milwaukee plant ) an understanding of the interrelation-
ship of the four plants is important.
AMC produces three series of automobiles: the American (the small-
est in size), the Rebel (formerly the Classic), and the Ambassador. A
separate single-model car--the Marlin, is included with the Ambassador
series for the purpose of this report. The three series are produced
in a total of 26 models.
* 4,
United States and Canadian production and trade
Since the number of automobile bodies produced during any model year
is virtually identical to the number of automobiles produced,. the data on
automobile production in the United States and Canada are used herein as
5
a measure of the number of automobile bodies produced in the two
countries
Unlike the experience of AMC which attained a record level of
production in the 1963 model year, aggregate U.S. and Canadian produc-
tion of automobile bodies increased annually in the 1963-65 model
years. Thereafter, U.S. annual production decreased slightly from a
record level of 8.8 million units in 1965 to 8.6 million units in
1966. Canadian production attained a record high of 673,000 units in
1966. Both U.S. and Canadian production was substantially lower in the
first seven months of the 1967 model year than in the like period of
1966 (table 3, page 7).
The total U.S. output of automobile bodies in the period November-
February of the 1964 model year (2.9 million) was slightly greater than
in the comparable period of 1967 (2.8 million). Canadian output was
about equal in that period of 1964 to that in 1967 (230,000 and
231,000 automobile bodies, respectively).
No trade has occurred in built-up automobile bodies as such between
the United States and Canada; such bodies enter the trade between the
two countries in the form of completed automdbiles. Before the 1965
1/ These data are based on conventional passenger automobile produc-tion by American Motors Corp., the Chrysler Corp., the Ford Motor Co., and General Motors Corp.; they do not include such special purpose motor-vehicles as the "Jeep" and "Scout". If these other motor-vehicles had been included, the aggregate data would not be significantly differ-ent from those for the four concerns. The data also do not include kits (K-D kits) prepared for export which contain body parts for assembly into automobiles in other countries.
6
model year there were no automobiles imported from Canada by the four
major U.S. automobile producers. Since then, increasing numbers have
been imported--2,000 in 1965, 94,000 in 1966 and 136,000 in the first
seven months of the 1967 model year. U.S. exports of automobiles to
Canada increased annually from 7,000 units in the 1963 model year to
59,000 units in 1966, and to 120,000 in the first seven months in the
1967 model year, As a result of these changes Canada became a net
exporter of automobiles to the United States; during the first
complete model year after the United States-Canadian automotive
agreement became effective, Canada attained a net export balance
of 35,000 units, During the first seven months of the 1967 model
year, Canada was a net exporter to the United States of 16,000
automobiles.
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