U.s. Economy 's Economy

provided information on where the economy stands today as well as how Americans view the

Globalization brought upon many changes to the American Automotive Industry in 1975. Increasing demand for import automobiles and the Energy Policy and Conservation Act served to be a real threat to the Ford Motor Company, American Motors, Chrysler Corporation, and General Motors. Out of these four manufacturers Chrysler was affected the worst by the industrial change, as they required a federal aid and required brand /management changes to revive themselves. Globalization formed a more competitive market in the United States during the 1970’s due to the changing emissions standards. The American Automotive Industry had to adjust to the new emissions standards from the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the fuel economy requirements of the Energy Policy and Conservation Act, all while building cars that attracted to American consumers.

Consumer concern over a declining housing market, political gridlock in Washington, high energy and healthcare costs, and budget worries collectively have resulted in an economic meltdown in need of a recovery. After 9/11, central banks around the world cut interest rates so low that investors borrowed disproportionate amounts of money leading to reduced liquidity and a buildup of foreign exchange outside the United States. While at the same time, Americans overindulged in consumption without saving any money. Homeowners extracted value from their homes to subsidize mortgagees with government support coming to late. According to United States Department of Commerce (2013) with the national unemployment rate at 7.4 percent, not counting those that have stopped even looking for work, wages paid to workers were the smallest share of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) since the 1950s. In December of 2008, a full recession hit our country and the Federal Open Market Committee answered the call

To predict the State of the United States (US) Economy is a constant and complicated duty. Professionals utilize economic indicators that may either confirm or predict long-term trends: lagging and leading indicators, respectively. This paper will attempt to asses the State of the US Economy as relatively strong by analyzing six comprehensive and representative economic indicators: Consumer Price Index, Unemployment, Gross Domestic Product, the S&P 500, Existing Home Sales, and Personal Income and Outlays.

Our study for U.S GDP covers the period of time from 2000 until 2015. During this time, the U.S economy has been in several economic recessions, a significant drop in the U.S. stock market, increasing in the national debt, and low Unemployment rate. In addition, household saving dropped by more than $10 trillion during the recession . (Figure 2-1). This trends affected the U.S economy’s productivity, slow the consumers’ spending, and reduced the U.S. export. However, since 2013, the economy growth has been in continues improvement despite the fact that the national debt is in increase. The strong raise of the economy brought so many jobs to the market, increase the consumer spending which positively affect the auto industry.

The United States is currently experiencing a slow recovery from the recession of 2008-09. The current unemployment rate is 7.7%, which is the lowest level since December of 2008 (BLS, 2012). However, this rate is believed to higher than the rate that would occur if the economy was operating at peak efficiency, and it is also believed that there are structural issues still underpinning this performance. For example, the number of Americans who have exited the work force as the result of prolonged unemployment is believed to be higher than usual. In addition, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO, 2012) notes that long-term unemployment of greater than 26 weeks is at a much higher rate than normal, which will have adverse long-run effects on the economy, since workers with long-term unemployment often find their career paths derailed.

In a present day of global warming, environmental issues, labor unions, and other impacts, the automobile industry is in an era of instability and change. Ford Motor Company has been traditionally considered one of the "Big Three" in the auto industry, but they are not adapting as well as hoped to the changing industry, and will have to strategize to survive in a struggling industry.

(Select USA, n.d.), have identified the United States as having one of the largest automotive markets in the world, as it is home to thirteen (13) auto manufacturers. Similarly, Investopedia.com, (n.d.), states that the North American automobile production market, is dominated by what is known as the “Big Three”, which includes; General Motors, producers of Chevrolet, Pontiac, Buick, and Cadillac, Chrysler, producers of Chrysler, jeep and Dodge, and Ford Motors, producers of Ford, Lincoln and Volvo”.

Based on the global market share statistics for 2014, the leading auto manufacturer was Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation with 11.6% of the market shares. Ranked in second place was Germany’s Volkswagen AG with 11.1%. Third was the American General Motors Company with 8.2%. Continuing with order of rank is American Ford Motor Company in fourth place, and in fifth place it is a tie between Japan’s Honda Motor Company Ltd and Italy’s Fiat SpA with 5.9%. In the lower ranks is Nissan, Daimler, BMW, and SAIC (Statista, 2014). As seen by the statistics, the biggest competitors for America are Japan and Germany. In the past America was the front runner in the auto industry, which changed in 2009 when the American auto industry crashed. Recently there have been a steady climb in the American auto industry. With this improvement America is becoming one of the top auto manufacturers again.

The American auto industry was once a shining example of the American Dream and the innovations of a growing industry. The 2009 recession tested the strength and morale of the industry and it has answered back with growth in the last few years. This paper will discuss the global competition, new technology, environmental impacts, consumer opinions and a SWOT analysis of the U.S. industry.

The United States automotive industry is the largest in the world. Thirteen automotive manufacturers have assembly plants in the United States, as well as a growing number of suppliers and dealerships. From 2008 to 2012, automotive manufacturers in the U.S. produced an average of over 8 million vehicles annually (SelectUSA, n.d.). In addition to the big three American automakers – General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler – Honda, Toyota, Nissan, Hyundai-Kia, BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Mazda, Mitsubishi, Subaru, and Volkswagen all manufacture automobiles in the United States (SelectUSA, n.d.).

In a present day of global warming, environmental issues, labor unions, and other impacts, the automobile industry is in an era of instability and change. Ford Motor Company has been traditionally considered one of the "Big Three" in the auto industry, but they are not adapting as well as hoped to the changing industry, and will have to strategize to survive in a struggling industry.

The auto industry has many challenges within the United States. As the market minimizes it becomes increasingly difficult for auto manufacturers to circumvent the economic downfall of the market. Newer technologies threaten the industry as consumers demand better fuel efficiency and are becoming more environmentally conscientious. With the ever involving consumer auto makers must drive sales in a creative manner than benefits all.

The U.S. automotive industry is facing a difficult if not unprecedented period of competition and capital spending in its efforts to compete with Japanese automakers and to meet pending government regulations on emissions control and safety. These burdens are falling on an industry trying to cope with massive losses due to the 1990-1991. Despite worldwide capital spending of $90 billion between 1983 and 1989, the domestic manufacturers lost ground in terms of market share to the Japanese automakers. It is estimated that by 1995 Japan 's North American transplant capacity for cars and light trucks could reach 2.8 million units, compared with just over 2 million units in 1991. The combination of Japanese vehicles (imported and locally assembled), imports

The financial crisis starting in 2008 and the following recession hit hard the US auto sector. Traditional car makers had to realise that substantial changes were needed in order to maintain their strong position in the