Preproduction 2023 models of Ford’s F-series Super Duty pickup trucks. (Ford.com)

Ford to keep AM radio, CEO says

Amid rising concerns, Canada's premier automaker will not drop AM

Ford Motor Co. has gone back on its plan to phase AM radio out of its vehicles. Ford CEO Jim Farley made the announcement Tuesday via Twitter, after company officials said last month that AM would be dropped from new non-commercial vehicles. “After speaking with policy leaders about the importance of AM broadcast radio as […] Read more


Exterior views of (l-r) the 2023 Chevrolet Silverado 1500 High Country, ZR2 and LT. (Media.chevrolet.com)

GM’s truck production cut signals a turn in U.S. auto sales

Company to idle Indiana plant for two weeks

Detroit | Reuters — New vehicle sales in the United States are expected to increase in February, but the decision by General Motors to cut production of large pickup trucks at a U.S. plant points to new challenges for Detroit’s automakers. The major Detroit pickup truck brands are sitting on growing inventories of unsold vehicles, […] Read more

(RBAuction.com)

Ritchie Bros. raises cash payout in bid for IAA

Activist investor Starboard Value buys into Ritchie

Reuters — Canada’s Ritchie Bros. on Monday sweetened the cash component of its buyout offer for IAA Inc. by 28 per cent, valuing the U.S. auto retailer at US$5.94 billion, and also secured the backing of a key IAA shareholder which had questioned the initial offer. The latest cash-and-stock offer at $44.40 per share, will […] Read more


Preproduction 2023 models of Ford’s F-series Super Duty pickup trucks. (Ford.com)

Ford, GM upgrade their heavy-duty pickup profit machines

New features aimed at business productivity

Detroit | Reuters — Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday took the wraps off the latest version of its Super Duty pickup, providing a look at how the U.S. automaker will manage one of the biggest challenges confronting Detroit. The problem: How to modernize the largest combustion pickups to keep demand strong and profits flowing, without […] Read more

Pickup trucks roll out of General Motors’ assembly plant at Oshawa, Ont. (Media.gm.ca)

GM CEO says ‘we are selling every truck we can build’

Rising fuel prices not seen undermining big truck demand, yet

Detroit | Reuters — General Motors CEO Mary Barra said on Monday the automaker is “selling every truck we can build” and expanding North American truck-building capacity, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit record highs. Barra made her comments during the automaker’s annual shareholder meeting. GM is pursuing a two-track strategy: Investing heavily in electric […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Feed weekly outlook: Markets facing uncertainty

MarketsFarm — Feed grain markets in Western Canada are facing some uncertainty amid tight domestic supplies and reports of transportation issues bringing up corn from the United States. “It’s very strange,” said Susanne Leclerc of MarketMaster Ltd. in Alberta. “You see stories like that (reporting on feedlots running low on grain), then you talk to […] Read more

(Video screengrab from CBSA-asfc.gc.ca)

Vaccine mandate to lead to inflation, empty shelves, trucking executives say

Parallel mandate for U.S. entry starts Saturday

Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian consumers should soon see higher prices and some empty shelves in supermarkets and other retail outlets because of disruptions stemming from a COVID-19 vaccine mandate for cross-border truckers, top trucking executives warned this week. The mandate, imposed by Ottawa to help curb the spread of the virus, has cost six […] Read more



GM’s CAMI assembly plant at Ingersoll, Ont. (GM.ca)

GM aims to tackle chip shortage with new designs

Chip-making investments to be in U.S., Canada

Reuters — General Motors aims to tackle the global semiconductor shortage with new designs built in North America, president Mark Reuss said on Thursday. Reuss told an investor conference GM is working with seven chip suppliers on three new families of microcontrollers that will reduce the number of unique chips by 95 per cent on […] Read more