Local car dealers say large inventories would protect them against a strike.

Local car dealers say large inventories would protect them against a strike.
By DON SHILLING
VINDICATOR BUSINESS EDITOR
A threatened strike by Teamsters tonight would leave automakers and car haulers scrambling to get new vehicles to dealers.
A strike by 9,000 drivers and other workers who transport vehicles from assembly plants and distribution centers is scheduled to begin at midnight unless negotiations produce a new contract. Teamsters and car haulers have been talking since March.
"If a strike is prolonged, it would hurt everyone," said Fred Martin, owner of Fred Martin Ford in Austintown.
Teamsters say four of every five new vehicles are hauled at some point by its members.
Martin and other area dealers said they haven't heard anything from manufacturers on how they would be affected by a strike.
Tom Hill, aGM's contin spokesman for General Motors Corp., said the automaker has a contingency plan to deliver vehicles but wouldn't disclose details.
The Chevrolet Cavaliers and Pontiac Sunfires assembled at GM's Lordstown Assembly Plant are delivered by Leaseway.
Grant Pfendler, manager of the company's Lordstown facility, said he didn't want to comment on the company's plans or on the talks.
He said the Lordstown facility delivers 250,000 cars a year to dealers as far west as the Mississippi River and as far south as South Carolina. Besides cars produced in Lordstown, it also serves as a distribution center. Cars from other assembly plants are sent by rail to the local Leaseway facility, which then sends them out by truck.
About 220 workers are based at the local facility, most of whom are Teamsters.
The length of the potential strike is the critical factor, car dealers said.
Dealers' inventory
Don Murphy, general manager of Donnell Ford in Boardman, said he didn't expect to be hurt immediately by a strike because he has $8 million in inventory, or about 400 new vehicles, which is $2 million more than normal.
He said he is expecting a strong sales year but isn't expecting 2004 F series trucks and Freestar minivans until September.
Jack Dugan, general manager of Youngstown Buick Pontiac GMC Truck, said he has 1,400 new vehicles on the lot, enough to get through the summer selling season. He also said he built up inventory in anticipation of large sales.
As of Friday, the Boardman dealership sold 230 new vehicles this month, compared with 171 in May of last year.
The dealership has 2004 Pontiac Grand Ams and Vibes but isn't expecting other 2004 models until July or August.
"The strike would be of no immediate concern for us," he said.
If it did become a problem, the dealership would be willing to pick up vehicles at distribution centers, he said.
Last strike
Automotive News, a trade publication, said that during the last strike by car haulers in 1995, GM offered its dealers $100 for every vehicle they picked up at distribution centers. That strike affected only one car carrier, Ryder Automotive Carrier Group.
Rob Black, a Teamsters spokesman, declined to say if one carrier would be the target of a strike or all companies.
"Any and all options are on the table," he said.
He declined to talk about specifics, but Automotive News said the union seeks wage increases and better pension and health-care benefits.
shilling@vindy.com