TPT January 2011

G lobal M arketplace

“Where there are only speculators, the real economic foundation has been lost,” said Mr Bruederle. China controls up to 97% of world production of rare earths – among them samarium, scandium and yttrium – and, as noted by Journal reporters Beate Preuschoff and Patrick McGroarty, the Chinese export quotas for 2010 were nearly exhausted when Mr Bruederle spoke. The materials are essential to the manufacture of a range of products including electric motors, TV screens, and mobile phones. Hans-Peter Keitel, president of the Federation of German Industries, said procuring rawmaterials had become more difficult for Germany’s manufacturing base, and he urged industry and government to work together to combat the trend. “Raw materials are no longer just a question of procurement,” Mr Keitel said. “They have gradually become a geopolitical issue.” Noting the particular difficulty of obtaining rare earths, Mr Keitel then brought up another worry for German companies: the danger that “our industrial manufacturers will go where the raw materials are on hand.” › Meanwhile, Beijing has signalled that it may further cut rare- earth exports this year. And Ms Preuschoff and Mr McGroarty observed that delays in current shipments from China have added to the anxieties. Pascal Lamy, general secretary of the World Trade Organization, has said the WTO has no authority to act on raw materials as such. Automotive The EU’s carbon dioxide reduction targets are being met handily, suggesting that the deadlines for compliance are too generous European car makers are set to achieve mandatory European Union targets for new-car carbon dioxide emissions years ahead

of time, according to a report published 4 November by Transport & Environment. Based in Brussels, T&E is an independent pan- European association promoting sustainable transport at the EU level. The study’s findings suggest that car makers exaggerated the time needed to comply with CO 2 limits for cars. One producer, Toyota, was found to have almost met its target for the year 2015, six years in advance. Therefore, according to T&E, targets now under discussion for vans should be tightened. Car makers recorded a record drop of 5.1% in average CO 2 emissions in 2009. T&E notes that many analysts and commentators attribute this mainly to the combined effect of the economic crisis and government subsidies for new cars: so-called “scrappage schemes.” Together, these shifted consumer demand towards cheaper and typically smaller (hence more efficient) cars. But T&E asserts that neither was the major factor in the CO 2 reductions recorded in 2009. Rather, it concludes that more than half of those reductions – accounting for close to a 3% improvement in average efficiency – were achieved not by selling smaller cars but through better technology. The report found that five companies (Toyota, Suzuki, Daimler, Ford and Mazda) achieved more than 3% CO 2 reductions though the application of new technology. Three companies (Hyundai, Suzuki and Fiat) achieved the same result by means of subsidy-assisted sales of smaller vehicles. Suzuki, which applied both methods, properly belongs in both lists. On publication of the report Jos Dings, the director of Transport & Environment, said: “These data show that the big improvement in fuel efficiency [in 2009] was not just a one-off caused by a shift to smaller cars. Car makers are adding fuel-saving technologies. So the trend of reduced carbon dioxide emissions is structural and will therefore continue when the market returns to normal.” › The T&E findings show that Toyota made the most progress in 2009, cutting CO 2 emissions by 10%, and is now closest to achieving its target for 2015. BMW, the company that with its “efficient dynamics” programme made the most progress in 2007 and 2008, achieved just a 2% reduction in emissions in 2009. Volkswagen Group, Europe’s biggest-selling car maker, disappointed in 2009 both in fleet average CO 2 (12 th of 14) and in year-on-year progress (10 th of 14) despite having several individual models with very competitive CO 2 ratings. According to T&E, it appears that relative to other car makers Volkswagen keeps the percentage of its most fuel-efficient vehicles low. This would explain why the average new car from the VW Group still has higher CO 2 emissions than the average BMW despite being 8% lighter and 27% less powerful. Elsewhere in automotive . . . › The Australian Manufacturing Workers’ Union (AMWU) blamed the high Australian dollar for a decision by Caterpillar to shift manufacture of mining trucks overseas.As reported byWill Ockenden of the Australian Broadcasting Corp (11 November), the big yellow

The EU’s carbon dioxide reduction targets have been met with ease

67

www.read-tpt.com

J anuary 2011

›