Alabama Rising to the Top in Auto Production

Currently number five in U.S. auto production, Alabama could potentially reach a top three position by the end of the year with an expected annual auto production at nearly 900,000 units. The incredible turnaround comes with a sigh of relief as just two years ago, in the midst of an economic downturn, Alabama’s auto production reached just below 468,000.

According to the Automotive News Data Center, in 2010 Alabama stood at number five reaching almost 698,000 vehicles. Michigan remained in the number one position with 1.6 million, Ohio at number two with 1.1 million, Indianan at three with 890,000 and Kentucky came in fourth with 739,00. Thus far, Alabama has produced upwards of 677,000 cars, and expects to surpass last year’s numbers by the end of the month.

Expansions in plants such as Mercedes-Benz and Honda will help boost the states production capacity. Although no expansion has been announced by Hyundai, the Montgomery based factory has already surpassed its capacity. On its own, Hyundai produced nearly 317,000 vehicles by the end of November, breezing by its previous annual capacity of 300,000 units. And with demand at an all-time high for the Sonata and Elantra among environmentally and cost conscious buyers the production trend is expected to continue.

LMC Automotive estimates North American auto production will reach 12.9 million vehicles by the end of 2011, an almost 9 percent increase from the previous year. However, numbers are still down from the 15-17 million vehicles that were produced during the mid-1990s and mid-2000s.

With Alabama’s production output increasing, recruiting opportunities are sure to open up. In order to support the continued success, plant owners will need to develop a talented workforce. The only way to ensure positive growth among employees in an expanding plant is to provide them with quality training for all aspects of their jobs. This includes process training, maintenance training, control training and all other relevant areas. Industrial skills training is key when it comes to the safety and productivity of your factory employees. Click here to learn more about how industrial skills training can benefit your business.

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