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A jumbo jet-sized mystery has landed in the lap of Argentine officials, who are trying to determine what to do with a Venezuelan-owned Boeing 747 cargo plane with a load of automotive parts and an unusually large crew of 17, including at least five Iranians. The plane operated by Venezuela's state-owned Emtrasur cargo line has been stuck since June 6 at Buenos Aires' main international airport, unable to depart because of U.S. sanctions against Iran and suspicions about its crew.

Junked and wrecked cars have become more expensive, adding another hiccup to the wild used car market. Per Bloomberg Opinion, prices for wrecked cars are skyrocketing now. Most of the time, these junked cars are sold at auctions. Insurance companies and sellers earn a piece of the pie when the cars are sold. And it seems that these cars are going for massive prices. For example, Copart Inc. — a $34 billion company that specializes in auctioning wrecked cars — said this week that it had its highest-ever selling prices for auctioned-off cars. This has come as vehicles have become...

We now know the name of the Chinese defector who has been working with the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) for a few months and what his position within the Chinese military and government was, among other details.Matthew Brazil and Jeff Stein at Spy Talk reported on the “rumor,” and gave the name and background of the rumored defector:Chinese-language anti-communist media and Twitter are abuzz this week with rumors that a vice minister of State Security, Dong Jingwei (董经纬) defected in mid-February, flying from Hong Kong to the United States with his daughter, Dong Yang.Dong is, or was, a longtime official...

A search is ongoing for three crew members reported missing from a roll-on/roll-off (ro/ro) vessel that sank off the coast of Japan early Friday morning. The MV Byakko sank at about 2:40 a.m. local time after colliding with the chemical tanker Ulsan Pioneer just before midnight in the Seto Inland Sea, Reuters reported. The Byakko reportedly sank about 2.5 miles off the coast of Imabari. Nine of the Byakko’s 12 crew members were said to have been rescued by the Japanese coast guard and nearby ships. Kyodo News reported that the ship’s captain, 66-year-old Tamotsu Sato, was among the missing....

Biden’s investment fund BHR co-purchased Henniges Automotive with Chinese military contractor AVIC, which has been identified as front for China's military and was sanctioned before the Obama administration approved Biden-connected sale. Co-buyer AVIC identified as front for China's military, and sanctioned before Obama administration approved Biden-connected sale. As he was sewing up the Democrat nomination this spring, Joe Biden surprised many in foreign policy circles by publishing an essay arguing it was time to "get tough with China" and to stop its "robbing the United States and American companies of their technology and intellectual property." For Biden, a four-decade advocate...

Note: The following text is a quote: Al Qaeda Supporter Pleads Guilty to Supporting Terrorist Organization Kansas City Man Also Admits to Bank Fraud, Overseas Money Laundering KANSAS CITY, MO—Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced today that a Kansas City, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to his role in a conspiracy to provide material support to the terrorist organization al Qaeda. He also pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering. “National security is the highest priority of the Department of Justice,” Phillips said. “I applaud the diligent work of our...

The German industrialist family Schaeffler, creator of the eponymous auto parts group, collaborated with the World War II Nazi regime in Poland, according to a report in Cicero magazine. The company initially specialised in textiles but converted to work in the arms industry and employed forced workers which included French, Poles, and Russians, historian Gregor Schöllgen wrote in the magazine's latest edition published on Thursday. Schoellgen, who is based at the university in Erlangen, southern Germany, was mandated by heirs to the group's founders, including the current boss Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, to explore the family's archives, a company spokesman told AFP....

'Buy American' No Longer Black And White In Auto Industry By PETER KROUSE and ROBERT SCHOENBERGER   Honda may be a Japanese brand, but it makes cars in Ohio, where it employs more than 15,000 workers, including Lori Dennis. She believes her job in Marysville is as American as those who work for Ford, General Motors and Chrysler. (Photo by Thomas Ondrey)     Buy American doesn't mean what it once did. Not in the auto industry.Honda's best sellers come from plants in Ohio while Ford imports cars from Mexico. Toyota opened a plant in Texas this year while Chrysler...

The first part we expected to receive was the Toshiba 56-nm 16-Gbit multilevel-cell NAND flash...To our dismay, the die markings were not Toshiba's, but Samsung's. After comparing the die markings (K9G4G08U0A) in our database, we were able to match the markings to the Samsung 4-Gbit 65-nm MLC NAND flash... If we had ordered the part in question for system design purposes, our system would have failed, since the device was only a 4-Gbit model and not the 16-Gbit version we had ordered and expected.

$100 billion in annual exports is India's new target. Add to that 25 million new jobs within the next 4 years. These are India's new economic goals. India expects its low-cost labor force and expertise in engineering to continue to draw investment into the country's manufacturing sector. India, of course, is known as a services hub. She would like to add to that growth in: 1. Engineering 2. Textiles 3. Drugs (legal) & 4. Auto Parts In any event, India will grow and grow and grow... Do you have plans for business with India? Why or why not?

Detroit - Auto-parts suppliers' trust in General Motors Corp. is at its lowest level in 15 years, according to a survey by a Michigan consulting firm. Eighty-five percent of the suppliers questioned who work with GM reported a poor working relationship and just 3% said they have a good or very good relationship. Fifty-three percent of suppliers said they prefer not to work with the world's largest automaker, saying the company has little regard for suppliers' financial stability. Planning Perspectives Inc. questioned 259 suppliers in March and April about whether automakers help or hinder them, how well they communicate and...

Koyo Steering Systems, a longtime supplier to Toyota Motor Co., will build a $30 million plant in Ennis partly to serve Toyota's new pickup plant in San Antonio, officials said Monday. The factory should be completed by next October and will initially employ 200 people – virtually all of them new hires, the company said. (snip) In the last four years, industries have invested more than $340 million in facilities in Ennis, creating more than 1,200 jobs, Mr. Howerton said. And Ennis is looking for more major auto suppliers, he said.

U.S. auto parts makers see more jobs moving abroad Reuters, 02.17.04, 11:33 AM ET By Susan Kelly CHICAGO (Reuters) - U.S. auto parts manufacturers, under pressure from automakers to match the lowest prices of global rivals, expect to reduce domestic production in the next several years as they open more factories abroad. Suppliers are following their customers to emerging markets not just because of cheaper labor, but also because of rapidly growing consumer demand for automobiles in these markets. U.S. parts makers see no letup in the shift of manufacturing capacity and jobs away from the United States, according to...

<p>Surge in imports by GM, others is seen as a threat to jobs in U.S.</p> <p>During the next few years, auto imports from China -- for parts like radios, CD players or DVDs -- are expected to explode. So, too, is the number of workers employed in China by Detroit's automakers and suppliers.</p>

<p>Detroit already has lost dominance of the car market and its share of the all-important light truck business is slipping. Now, the Midwest may lose its traditional role as the center of the auto parts industry.</p> <p>"The balance of the auto industry is shifting South," said Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago economist Thomas Klier.</p>

FRANKLIN, Ind. (AP) — Auto parts maker ArvinMeritor Inc. has made a preliminary decision to close its exhaust systems plant in Franklin, a move that could eliminate more than 800 jobs, the Daily Journal reported. In a story for its Saturday editions, the newspaper quoted ArvinMeritor spokeswoman Colleen Hanley as saying the company would notify an employee union of its final decision by Wednesday. Harry Alfrey, of the Great Lakes Regional Industrial Council, a business agent for the union, said, ‘‘The choice is between keeping it open and closing it, and that decision will be made the 24th.’’ ArvinMeritor, a...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. CHENNAI: If Detroit is motown to the world, India could well be the source point for the nuts and bolts that set the hot wheels into motion. With outsourcing orders pouring in from Europe and America, the $1-billion auto components export target could well be advanced. Indian engineering and auto components never had it so good with a bull run both in domestic and export markets. The estimated export earnings for 2002-03 stands at $800 million against $578 million in 2001-02. The auto outsourcing boom could well match the vigorous IT-based...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use. The scramble by the recession-wounded global automotive industry to find a source for low-cost, high-quality components has been a big boon to India's auto-parts makers. Among the recent rash of announcements was one by the Delphi Corp., the world's largest automotive parts maker, saying it would have $140 million worth of auto parts made by Indian concerns and that such orders were expected to exceed $250 million a year by 2007. The Ford Motor Co. said it expected to get more than $100 million worth of components from Indian parts makers...

ANGALORE, India, June 19 — The scramble by the recession-wounded global automotive industry to find a source for low-cost, high-quality components has been a big boon to India's auto parts makers.Among the rash of announcements just this month was one by the Delphi Corporation, the world's largest automotive parts maker, saying that it would have $140 million worth of auto parts — forged engine parts, intricate plastic moldings and other products — made by Indian concerns, and that such orders were expected to exceed $250 million a year by 2007. The Ford Motor Company said that it expected to get...