Last place I worked shut down for two weeks at xmas, you had a choice of either
using vacation or taking it unpiad, most chose unpaid and used the vacation for
other things during the year. did not hurt even those people living week to week.
We supplied China with lead paint.


Saint

 

It may be difficult, but HD is doing the right thing. They need to clear out inventory. They may have to run at lower production next year as well. I think the real problem for them came from the fact used bike prices really seemed to slip in the last year or two. It really makes it hard for the dealers to sell at msrp with nice used bikes are much cheaper.Lower new production will help correct the new and used market inventory glutand I think in 2009 HD will be able to up production.

 

I was in Ireland last week and read in one of the papers (don't recall which) that HD was revising its sales forecast downward about 4% for '08 models. Has anyone seen this in U.S. papers?

 

Yes, this is true. Sales have been soft this year mainly in the US. I saw aarticle that said HD will ship 325,000 bikes this year, last year they shipped 350,000 bikes.

 

Much, much more than 4 %....

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?p...amp;refer=news

The Milwaukee-based maker of Fat Boy cruisers expects to ship 86,000 to 88,000 Harley motorcycles in the third quarter, compared with a previous forecast of as many as 95,000.

Full-year deliveries to dealers will decline as much as 6.1 percent to 328,000 to 332,000 motorcycles, Harley said.

Prices for most Harley-Davidson brand cycles exceed $15,000, helping it earn more from the vehicles than Honda Motor Co., the largest motorcycle maker with 25 times Harley's volume.

 

It wasn't too far back when the folks "on the line" at HD production facilities talked up the brand. With the latest strike and this shut-down, I wonder how the production folks feel about HD, now???

 

Slooooooow down the production so our babies are worth more.

 

I think the shutdown is also related to the ecomomy slowing down, people aren't running out
and dropping xx thousand dollars etc. Stopping production allows current inventory to move.
It sucks for employees but thats the nature of business I guess. Isn't that what the auto companies do?

Later........

 

when things slow down were I work I just go to a temp company and pick-up some hours. Kind of nice to change work environment now and then.

 

Am I the only one who wonders why a Gold Wing owner posts over 1060 times on an HD forum? Someone needs to get out more.