Though local officials aren’t courting Honda to consider Windsor as a potential site for an $18.4-billion electric vehicle assembly and battery plant campus, automotive analysts expect the local area to be one of the big beneficiaries should it land in Ontario.
News of Honda considering Ontario as the potential home for the project was revealed Sunday by the Japanese business publication Nikkei, the world’s largest financial newspaper.
“Windsor would be well-positioned to service it, being close to both Honda’s Marysville, Ohio, and Alliston plants. Honda has already made a substantial investment in Ohio,” he said.
Honda is building a battery plant with LG Energy Solution in Ohio and converting its production facility there to electric vehicles. And Honda is already a significant client for several local companies, who are supplying the Japanese automaker’s operations in both Canada and the U.S.
NextStar Energy battery plant director of planning Sung Park has previously told the Star that its supply chain companies locating in Windsor would also be servicing other firms in Canada and the U.S.
One of those suppliers, Dongshin Motech, is currently building a plant by Windsor Airport. The company will also supply the same aluminum trays to Honda’s Marysville operations.
The South Korean supplier Bobaek America is building two plants by the Windsor Airport to supply insulation panels and cell sheets for Dongshin Motech to use in its products.
Multiple sources have confirmed to the Star Honda officials have been in discussion with various levels of government in Canada for several months. Honda’s global team met with Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland and other federal government officials Thursday regarding the investment.
Local officials confirmed they were not pursuing the Honda file and are focusing on recruiting supply chain companies to service the NextStar Energy battery plant and other non-automotive related firms.
“This wasn’t just a leak that came out now for no reason and from that particular source,” Sweeney said. “There’s a message here (from Honda).
“This is a lot further along than just general interest by Honda. I expect we’ll know something by summertime.”
Automotive Parts Manufacturers’ Association president Flavio Volpe said there will be opportunities for local tool and die, mould-making, automation firms and parts manufacturers should the investment come to fruition.
“They’d get a chance to get more business or new business,” Volpe said.
“It’s a domino effect. A lot of power companies’ suppliers in St. Thomas (for Volkswagen’s new battery plant) and the same for NextStar’s suppliers in Windsor, would likely be involved with Honda too.”
Volpe added Windsor area companies working with NextStar and Stellantis’s Windsor Assembly Plant, which has been retooled to build electric vehicles, will have the advantage of being first out of the gate in a new industry segment.
The NextStar plant will be fully operational two years before Canada’s next battery plant comes online in St. Thomas.
“One of the biggest checkmarks for suppliers in winning new business is, ‘What current business are you doing now?’” Volpe said.
“If you’re a successful NextStar supplier, you’ve demonstrated being able to deliver and shown your financial capabilities. If you’re looking at safe, reliable options for 2028 (for the Honda plants), you look at those suppliers first.”
“They’ll be relied on to not only do the work elsewhere, but to tool up new plants,” Sweeney said. “The first-mover advantage could be a pretty significant competitive advantage.
“It flies in the face of the argument over the 900 temporary foreign workers coming to Canada. They are the ones that are going to impart this knowledge we don’t have.”
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was down more than 200 points in late-morning trading, weighed down by losses in the technology, base metal and energy sectors, while U.S. stock markets also fell.
The S&P/TSX composite index was down 239.24 points at 22,749.04.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 312.36 points at 40,443.39. The S&P 500 index was down 80.94 points at 5,422.47, while the Nasdaq composite was down 380.17 points at 16,747.49.
The Canadian dollar traded for 73.80 cents US compared with 74.00 cents US on Thursday.
The October crude oil contract was down US$1.07 at US$68.08 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.26 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was down US$2.10 at US$2,541.00 an ounce and the December copper contract was down four cents at US$4.10 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
TORONTO – Canada’s main stock index was up more than 150 points in late-morning trading, helped by strength in technology, financial and energy stocks, while U.S. stock markets also pushed higher.
The S&P/TSX composite index was up 171.41 points at 23,298.39.
In New York, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 278.37 points at 41,369.79. The S&P 500 index was up 38.17 points at 5,630.35, while the Nasdaq composite was up 177.15 points at 17,733.18.
The Canadian dollar traded for 74.19 cents US compared with 74.23 cents US on Wednesday.
The October crude oil contract was up US$1.75 at US$76.27 per barrel and the October natural gas contract was up less than a penny at US$2.10 per mmBTU.
The December gold contract was up US$18.70 at US$2,556.50 an ounce and the December copper contract was down less than a penny at US$4.22 a pound.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 29, 2024.
Companies in this story: (TSX:GSPTSE, TSX:CADUSD)
The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.
The crypto market has recently experienced a significant downturn, mirroring broader risk asset sell-offs. Over the past week, Bitcoin’s price dropped by 24%, reaching $53,000, while Ethereum plummeted nearly a third to $2,340. Major altcoins also suffered, with Cardano down 27.7%, Solana 36.2%, Dogecoin 34.6%, XRP 23.1%, Shiba Inu 30.1%, and BNB 25.7%.
The severe downturn in the crypto market appears to be part of a broader flight to safety, triggered by disappointing economic data. A worse-than-expected unemployment report on Friday marked the beginning of a technical recession, as defined by the Sahm Rule. This rule identifies a recession when the three-month average unemployment rate rises by at least half a percentage point from its lowest point in the past year.
Friday’s figures met this threshold, signaling an abrupt economic downshift. Consequently, investors sought safer assets, leading to declines in major stock indices: the S&P 500 dropped 2%, the Nasdaq 2.5%, and the Dow 1.5%. This trend continued into Monday with further sell-offs overseas.
The crypto market’s rapid decline raises questions about its role as either a speculative asset or a hedge against inflation and recession. Despite hopes that crypto could act as a risk hedge, the recent crash suggests it remains a speculative investment.
Since the downturn, the crypto market has seen its largest three-day sell-off in nearly a year, losing over $500 billion in market value. According to CoinGlass data, this bloodbath wiped out more than $1 billion in leveraged positions within the last 24 hours, including $365 million in Bitcoin and $348 million in Ether.
Khushboo Khullar of Lightning Ventures, speaking to Bloomberg, argued that the crypto sell-off is part of a broader liquidity panic as traders rush to cover margin calls. Khullar views this as a temporary sell-off, presenting a potential buying opportunity.
Josh Gilbert, an eToro market analyst, supports Khullar’s perspective, suggesting that the expected Federal Reserve rate cuts could benefit crypto assets. “Crypto assets have sold off, but many investors will see an opportunity. We see Federal Reserve rate cuts, which are now likely to come sharper than expected, as hugely positive for crypto assets,” Gilbert told Coindesk.
Despite the recent volatility, crypto continues to make strides toward mainstream acceptance. Notably, Morgan Stanley will allow its advisors to offer Bitcoin ETFs starting Wednesday. This follows more than half a year after the introduction of the first Bitcoin ETF. The investment bank will enable over 15,000 of its financial advisors to sell BlackRock’s IBIT and Fidelity’s FBTC. This move is seen as a significant step toward the “mainstreamization” of crypto, given the lengthy regulatory and company processes in major investment banks.
The recent crypto market downturn highlights its volatility and the broader economic concerns affecting all risk assets. While some analysts see the current situation as a temporary sell-off and a buying opportunity, others caution against the speculative nature of crypto. As the market evolves, its role as a mainstream alternative asset continues to grow, marked by increasing institutional acceptance and new investment opportunities.
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