How did the automobile industry benefit from the depression?

How did the automobile industry benefit from the depression?

Large automobile corporations, such as Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors, had made such huge profits during the 1920s that the cutbacks of the Depression only curtailed large increases in profits; many executive employees were secure in their jobs throughout the Depression years.

How did General Motors respond to the Great Depression?

It is not that GM anticipated the Great Depression better than any of its competitors. According to Alfred P. Sloan, president and later chairman of GM from 1923 to 1956, “It would be unfair to claim any particular prescience on our part; no more than anyone else did we see the depression coming…. [W]e simply learned how to react quickly.

What was the main industry expansion during the Great Depression?

Within the overall upswing, the main expansion occurred during the 1922 to 1923 and 1928 to 1929 periods, and it was most pronounced in the automobile, electrical goods, and (to 1926) construction industries.

What was the production rate for Chrysler during the Great Depression?

The assembly lines for Chrysler’s Plymouth brand reached production levels of 90 cars per hour in comparison with 60 cars per hour at both GM and Ford, which enabled Plymouth to realize the highest profit per unit of any discount auto brand at the time.

Large automobile corporations, such as Ford, Chrysler, and General Motors, had made such huge profits during the 1920s that the cutbacks of the Depression only curtailed large increases in profits; many executive employees were secure in their jobs throughout the Depression years.

It is not that GM anticipated the Great Depression better than any of its competitors. According to Alfred P. Sloan, president and later chairman of GM from 1923 to 1956, “It would be unfair to claim any particular prescience on our part; no more than anyone else did we see the depression coming…. [W]e simply learned how to react quickly.

When was the last time the automotive industry had a recession?

The domestic automotive industry emerged from the recession of 1980–1982 (when it posted a cumulative loss of $4.1 billion) to a record post-World War II expansion between 1983 and 1989, during which time it earned $61 billion.

Why was Ford affected by the Great Depression?

As the most vertically integrated company in the industry, Ford bore the full financial impact of the decline in sales because of its high fixed production costs. Ford’s lax accounting and poor business management made cutting costs difficult.