Autos: on the road again

For much of 2003, autos analysts have advised investors to watch closely for the outcome of negotiations between the United Auto Workers and the Big Three auto companies.

With salaries, pensions, healthcare, and plant closures all potential points for conflict, the talks were set to draw the map for the next four years of labour relations in the sector.

Those talks reached their tentative conclusion last month with caps on pension benefits, some flexibility on plant closures, and more modest salary packages than agreed in the 1999 talks. But while the outcome of the talks seemed relatively positive, questions still remain over the sector’s prospects: