Lower Raw Material Prices Boosting Automaker Profits Rather Than Lowering Consumers Cost

There's another reason for automakers' robust profits in North America aside from surging auto sales and moderating labor costs -- dramatically lower prices for steel, aluminum, natural gas and other commodities.

A recent study by the consulting firm AlixPartners found that raw material costs per North American-produced vehicle, have fallen $476, or 24% from about $1,976 last August to $1,500 in May.

TheSteve - 7/17/2015 12:43:34 PM

+2 Boost

Is that news? Haven't we experienced that with crude oil prices dropping through the floor while gasoline prices, not so much. And while crude continues to trend down, gas at the pump is trending up.

We don't live in a "cost plus" society. We live according to what the market will bear.