The supply of cable harnesses has improved, and a small part of the workforce can now gradually return from short-time work, said MAN boss Alexander Vlaskamp in Munich. But he only expects production to be fully ramped up over the next few months. “According to current estimates, we could lose more than 20 percent of our annual production. The backlog can hardly be made up,” said Vlaskamp. On average, MAN, which recently sold its Steyr site to local investor Siegfried Wolf, produces between 80,000 and 85,000 trucks per year.
11,000 employees on short-time work since mid-March
Because the cable harness manufacturers in the Ukraine can only deliver a little, MAN had sent around 11,000 employees on short-time work in Germany alone from mid-March. The assembly lines were in the truck plants in Munich and in Kraków, Poland, but there were restrictions in Nuremberg, Salzgitter and Wittlich. MAN is now also getting cable harnesses from Poland, Turkey and Brazil, Vlaskamp told the German Press Agency. But “in the second quarter, the majority of the workforce will still have to remain on short-time work”. A loss of suppliers in the Ukraine could only be almost completely compensated for well into the second half of the year.
Offer remains limited
The offer will remain limited for the time being. Truck production is now beginning with articulated lorries and standard vehicles. On the other hand, orders for special vehicles, for example for construction sites or fire brigades, would have to be postponed. Nevertheless, the order book is very stable overall, said the MAN boss: Corona and the lack of semiconductors have slowed deliveries since 2020, the need for replacements in vehicle fleets in Europe is high, and the stock of used vehicles is smaller than ever.
The loss of sales in 2022 cannot yet be estimated in view of the volatile situation. If Russia widens the war in Ukraine, it could come to a standstill again, Vlaskamp said. In order to save money, MAN has imposed a hiring freeze and canceled almost all of the expenditure that is not necessary on a daily basis.
The commercial vehicle manufacturer, which belongs to the VW Group, has been in the red since 2020 and is currently repositioning itself for the construction of electric trucks from 2024. In Germany, socially responsible agreements have already been made to cut 2,400 of the planned 3,500 jobs, said Vlaskamp. The demand for city buses is good, for coaches the first orders are coming again. The bus plants in Poland and Turkey obtain their cable harnesses from local suppliers. The truck manufacturer Scania, which also belongs to the Volkswagen group, obtains them from Poland and Tunisia.
Source: Nachrichten
