Ford loses $5.9 billion during fourth quarter, says it has enough cash to survive, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2009
Cleveland—Ford Motor Co. lost $5.9 billion during the final three months of last year, but the company says it has enough cash on hand to continue investing in new plants and products without seeking a government bailout.

Union membership rises, by Sam Hananel, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2009
Washington—The ranks of organized labor rose by 428,000 workers in 2008, the biggest annual gain since the government began compiling such data in 1983, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Wednesday.

Brown promotes ‘Buy America’: Senator wants stimulus plan funds to be spent on U.S.-made products, by Chanda Neely, Lorain Morning Journal, January 29, 2009
Washington—Sen. Sherrod Brown and United Steelworkers International President Leo Gerard are calling for President Barack Obama’s upcoming stimulus package to include “Buy America” provisions.

• Relief bill's American-made clause stirs debate, by Stephen Koff, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2009

Weekly Earnings Reports Roundup:

• Timken Co. reports $36.2 million loss in fourth quarter, by Frank Bentayou, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2009
• Invacare Corp. profit sharply higher for quarter, year, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 29, 2009
• AK Steel posts $431 million loss in fourth quarter amid weak demand, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2009
• Steris Corp. reports $28.6 million profit in third quarter, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
• Surgical products sales help Steris post a profit, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2009
• Eaton, AIT report rough quarters, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 26, 2009
• GE reports 46% decline in 4th-quarter earnings, by Stephen Manning, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 24, 2009

Eaton Corp. reorganizes into two sectors, electrical and industrial, by Marcia Pledger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Cleveland—Eaton announced a reorganization of its five previous reporting segments. Four of those segments—aerospace, automotive, hydraulics and truck—are now part of the company's new industrial sector. The fifth segment, electrical, is being split in two, creating electrical Americas and Electrical world segments, that are now part of the electrical sector.

Honda in North America cutting output by 29,000, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Tokyo— Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday output in North America will fall by 29,000 units, affecting Honda's three plants in the region—Ontario, Canada; Marysville/East Liberty, Ohio; and Lincoln, Ala.

Chrysler, GM and Ford reach to Europe for small cars, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Cleveland—For most of Detroit's history, small cars have meant small profits. But trends indicate the roads of Cleveland soon will be filled with the kinds of small, fuel-efficient vehicles that are common today in Paris and London.

Carbon dioxide capture studied at FirstEnergy plant, Akron Beacon Journal, January 28, 2009
Akron—The Electric Power Research Institute is analyzing whether it might be possible to capture carbon dioxide emissions from a coal-burning power plant in Ohio. Specifically, it will study adding carbon dioxide capture to the Akron-based FirstEnergy Corp.'s Unit No. 1 at the Bay Shore plant in Oregon, Ohio.

Parker Hannifin wins $2.5 billion aerospace contract, by Michelle Jarboe, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Cleveland—Parker Hannifin Corp. expects a new partnership with Rolls-Royce Group PLC to generate roughly $2.5 billion in revenues over 40 years. The company's aerospace group has been selected by Rolls-Royce to work on the Trent XWB engine that will power new Airbus A350 XWB aircraft.

Ford closing Ohio engine plant in Lima for two weeks, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Lima, Ohio—Ford Motor Co. says it will stop production for two weeks next month at its Lima engine plant and will lay off as many as 70 employees indefinitely.

Editorial: Success of Chevrolet’s Cruze is more important than ever, Youngstown Vindicator, January 28, 2009
Youngstown—It’s seems like such a long time ago, but it was only last June that all of the news coming out of the General Motors complex in Lordstown was good news. The state of Ohio must continue to work closely with General Motors in whatever way is possible to make the Cruze a reality.

• Worries mount in wake of layoffs, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, January 28, 2009
• Lordstown counting on the Cruze, by Don Shilling, Youngstown Vindicator, January 27, 2009

High-tech conference in April for innovators, Dayton Daily News, January 28, 2009
Dayton—A conference for companies and researchers specializing in high-tech materials development and commercialization is scheduled April 20-23 at the Dayton Convention Center. The Ohio Innovation Summit is intended to provide information about research and commercial opportunities in the fields of nanotechnology.

How to conduct business in an international market all in a book on etiquette, by Janet H. Cho, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 28, 2009
Cleveland—Travel and etiquette expert Mary Murray Bosrock says being culturally savvy and knowing how to avoid offending your international clients has never been more crucial. In 2007, Bostock published Asian Business Customs & Manners: How to Converse, Negotiate, Dress, Dine, and Socialize When Doing Business With Asians From 16 Countries.

Biotech industry growing in Northeast Ohio, Ohio News Network, January 27, 2009
Mayfield Village, Ohio—The Biotech industry is still growing in Northeast Ohio, even at a time when the area has some of the state's highest unemployment numbers. But Quality Electrodynamics, a manufacturer of radio-frequency coils for MRI scanners, has doubled its staff since September.

NE Ohio businesses get loans, tax credits, by Michelle Jarboe, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2009
Columbus—The state Monday awarded a $5 million loan to tire-maker Bridgestone Firestone North American Tire LLC and an estimated $1.8 million in tax credits to J.M Smucker Co. to encourage and reward the companies for expanding and adding jobs.

Jeep workers back on the job, by Rob Wiercinski, WTOL-TV via Ohio News Network, January 27, 2009
Toledo—A lengthy shut down has ended at Toledo's Jeep assembly facilities in Toledo as workers are clocking in for the first time since before Christmas.

Steel makers forecast grim first quarter, by Daniel Loverling, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2009
Pittsburgh—Pittsburgh-based U.S. Steel and West Chester, Ohio-based AK Steel expect operating loses in the first three months of 2009. A third steel maker, Nucor Corp. in Charlotte, N.C., forecast "only marginally better" earnings compared with its fourth quarter.

Lordstown braces for cuts, by Amanda Smith-Teutsch, Warren Tribune Chronicle, January 26, 2009
Lordstown, Ohio—Union and government officials alike are bracing for the possibility of more work reductions at General Motors' Lordstown complex. One positive sign: the company is still remodeling the plant to prepare for the Chevrolet Cruze in April 2010.

• GM's Lordstown plant cutting 2,000 jobs, Lordstown plant loses 800 workers, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 27, 2009
• GM Ohio, Michigan shift cuts to eliminate 2,000 jobs, by Jeff Green, Bloomberg, January 26, 2009
• Shift to be cut at GM factory; Layoffs at Lordstown sign of likely reductions at other plants in U.S., by Tom Krisher, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, January 24, 2009

University of Toledo, steel company forge business education partnership, by Meghan Gilbert, Toledo Blade, January 26, 2009
Delta, Ohio—North Star Bluescope Steel and the University of Toledo have graduated 25 individuals from the university's first on-site MBA program. North Star, which paid for its employees’ tuition and books, approached the university to bring the MBA program to the mill to make it even easier for them to get an advanced degree.

Bankruptcy fears grip auto-parts suppliers, by John D. Stoll and Jeffrey McCracken, Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2009 (Subscription)
New York—Some of the nation's largest auto-parts makers are planning for potential bankruptcy filings, or are scrambling to avoid them. Increasingly, lenders are refusing to extend credit to parts makers who do lots of business with GM, Ford or Chrysler, and the auto makers themselves can't afford to rescue even their most vital suppliers.

• Metalworks Worldwide closes after 63 years; 125 jobless, by Shaheen Samavati, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 24, 2009

What is an American car? These days its hard to tell, by Joseph B. White, Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2009 (Subscription)
New York—"Buy American" is back on the agenda in Washington. In a world where the NHTSA says, for example, the Toyota Sequoia is 80% domestic and the Jeep Patriot is only 66%, the tricky question is: Just what is an "American" car, or for that matter, an "American" car company?

Obama's order is likely to tighten auto standards, by John M. Broder and Peter Baker, New York Times, January 26, 2009
Washington—President Obama will direct federal regulators on Monday to move swiftly on an application by California and 13 other states to set strict automobile emission and fuel efficiency standards, two administration officials said Sunday.

• Obama orders more fuel-efficient cars by 2011, by Paula Davidson, USA TODAY, January 26, 2009

Steelmakers seek10% reduction in iron prices; miners balk, by Robert Guy Matthews, Wall Street Journal, January 26, 2009 (Subscription)
New York—The world's steelmakers want at least a 10% reduction in iron-ore prices, but miners are determined to keep prices level as the two sides begin secretive contract negotiations in what looks to be a bust year for all commodities.

Toyota's output seen down 25 percent, report says, AP via Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 26, 2009
Tokyo—Toyota's domestic production in 2009 will likely drop by 25 percent from the previous year, hit by sinking demand amid a deepening global recession, a report said Monday. To weather the global downturn, Toyota is slashing the number of temporary workers it employs.

Columbiana County in line for massive coal-to-energy plant, by Larry Ringler, Warren Tribune Chronicle, January 25, 2009
Warren, Ohio—Baard Energy LLC plans to build its Ohio River Clean Fuels processing facility on a 600-acre site along the OhioRiver in Wellsville, Ohio, about 50 miles south of Youngstown. The plant would convert coal and biomass, such as wood chips, into clean diesel. It would create 4,000 construction jobs and 450 permanent jobs. Union leaders say the project is the biggest in the Trumbull, Mahoning and Columbiana counties since GM built the Lordstown car assembly plant in the mid-1960s. Construction could begin in 2010.

Smith Dairy has the scoop on convenience; adds instant milkshakes to lineup, by Lisa Abraham, Akron Beacon Journal, January 25, 2009
Orrville, Ohio—The f'REAL milkshake cup is one of the newest products to roll off the lines at the Smith Dairy Products Co. With $120 million in annual sales and a work force of more than 400 at both plants, Smith has a strong regional presence in the dairy industry and ranks 70th among the top 100 dairies in the country for annual sales.

Corning focuses on research; 160-year-old company continues to reinvent itself to stay competitive, by Ben Dobbin, AP via Akron Beacon Journal, January 25, 2009
Corning, NY—Corning Inc. devotes 10 percent of revenue to research, but after the 2001 economic downturn, management imposed a more rigorous, companywide system for nurturing the best ideas along step by step. Out of hundreds of projects each year, it chooses to keep pursuing just a handful seen as likely to hit a jackpot.

Outgoing Port Authority Chairman Michael Wager sees opportunities for Cleveland waterfront, by Tom Breckenridge, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 24, 2009
Cleveland—The Cleveland port has unprecedented opportunity to drive big investments into Cleveland's waterfront and nearby neighborhoods, says Michael Wager, the outgoing port chairman. Wager, a lawyer for Squire Sanders & Dempsey LLP, stepped down as chairman at a meeting Friday of the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

Metalworks Worldwide closes after 63 years; 125 jobless, by Shaheen Samavati, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 24, 2009
Cleveland—Metalworks Worldwide, a manufacturer of high-precision metal automotive components, will shut down its S&Z Metalwolrks stamping plant and LJ Metalworks assembly plant on Berea Road by next month. The company will operate at a reduced level for the next few weeks to give clients time to find a replacement supplier.

General Electric drops plans to sell light bulb and appliance businesses, by Robert Schoenberger, Cleveland Plain Dealer, January 24, 2009
Cleveland—General Electric has dropped plans to sell its light bulb and appliance businesses, saying the market is not right for a deal. Long term, the company still expects to sell or spin off that division.

Detroit bets its future on Washington; only recently GM said hybrids make 'no economic sense,' Wall Street Journal, January 24, 2009 (Subscription)
Detroit—The curtain comes down this week on the 2009 Detroit International Auto Show -- and with it likely on the American auto industry as we know it. This might turn out to be a watershed year when some of the industry's big players permanently shift gears from serving ordinary car buyers to serving the grand designs of central planners.