Randomly Noted

With Ford the sole (relatively) healthy U.S. auto maker, this week’s newsflow is very instructive: The big events include the likely sale of its Volvo unit to China’s Geely, and Ford’s efforts to get UAW locals to approve measures that would reduce its labor costs. Both news events are key to Ford’s survival. Bidding a final adieu to Volvo, should the Geely deal stick, would conclude an odd period in Ford’s history. Ford bought Volvo in 1999 for $6.4 billion;  as WSJ colleague Norihiko Shirouzu writes, after racking up Volvo-related losses Ford finally decided last year to ditchi t. Ford never should have bought another brand – it needed to improve its own vehicles, which it has finally done. The UAW situation speaks to Ford’s disadvantage relative to rivals Chrysler and General Motors; the latter are in worse financial shape but enjoy lower labor costs thanks to deep UAW concessions made in the heat of the crisis that sent the firms into Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. As I and others have written, Ford is at a competitive disadvantage by virtue of being the only one of the Detroit 3 to have skirted the need for a federal bailout and bankruptcy protection. It would behoove the UAW locals to get with the program and let Ford function at cost levels that are within hailing distance of Chrysler and GM’s.