TPT January 2011

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January 2011 67 ›
Global Marketplace
“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 CO2 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 CO2
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 CO2
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% CO2 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 CO2 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 CO2 (12th of 14) and in year-on-year
progress (10th of 14) despite having several individual models with
very competitive CO2 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 CO2 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