Ja to benefit from hub
Published:Tuesday | January 28, 2014 | 12:00 AM
THE EDITOR, Sir:
With all the talk these days about the logistics hub and its potential to positively help the economy, there is a development in the United States that I believe also has the potential to help the local economy.
At this year's North American International Auto Show (the NAIAS), the Ford Motor Company introduced the 2015 F-150 pickup truck, the worldwide best-selling vehicle. In and of itself not that big a deal, except that it has a body that is made of mostly aluminium. Depending on the options and configurations, this upcoming F-150 will weigh between 500 and 900 pounds less than its predecessors. The F-150 sales total about 500,000 units annually, and with Ford deciding to use more aluminium, I'm wondering how much Jamaica could potentially benefit from this development, especially in terms of additional employment in the bauxite-mining sector and any additional income as a result.
According to Alcoa, it's seeing, sensing, and expecting more and more automakers to start using more and more aluminium in their vehicles, one result of the more stringent fuel-efficiency/economy mandates coming down the pike in North America, Europe and Asia. Alcoa is also saying that Ford's decision to use aluminium in its F-150 represents a tipping point in the use of the metal in vehicles, and there has recently been an increase in the price/ton of the metal.
Assuming all this is true, is it too much to believe that Jamaica stands to potentially benefit from these developments? Additionally, Ford's Lincoln division plans to come out with a brand-new Navigator SUV for the 2016 model year, and its body will be mostly aluminium. Again, how come we are not hearing too much from anyone in the Government of Jamaica or from the bauxite companies in Jamaica about any potential benefits to the economy from these developments?
TREVOR DAWES
Georgia, USA