Kickstart: Shortages of little chips are adding up to big problems for auto industry

It's another tough year for the auto industry. New forecasts are showing that the computer microchip shortage is cutting deeper than expected, and that's hitting companies throughout the supply chain.

Consultants say the global auto industry could lose at least 7 million vehicles worth of production and sales in 2021 due to the chip shortage. As a result, public companies in the supply chain have been updating their earnings estimates for 2021.

France-based Faurecia, for one example, expects do $1 billion less in business than it expected earlier this year.

And Bloomberg reports that Marelli — the Italian and Japanese auto supplier formed in 2019 by the merger of Magneti Marelli and Calsonic Kansei — plans to cut 1,500 people from its global workforce, or about 7.5 percent of its office staff.

In the U.S., Marelli does about $100 million worth of injection molding sales annually, most of that picked up from the Calsonic Kansei business. It ranks No. 82 among North American injection molders, according to PN's ranking.

In addition to the job cuts, Bloomberg reports Marelli will take on a "wider restructuring that will include 10 new business units and six divisions, the letter said, adding that it will also look to strengthen business in China."

Advanced Drainage Systems Inc. has become the "official sustainability partner of the Columbus Blue Jackets" and as part of that partnership will tie goalies' saves in the net for the NHL team with donations for sustainable causes.

ADS' "Between the Pipes" fundraising initiative will see the pipe maker donate $5 for every regulation save and $10 for every shootout save by Blue Jackets goaltenders during all games.

Hilliard, Ohio-based ADS noted in a news release that it is the second-largest plastics recycler in North America — reclaiming nearly 500 million pounds in 2020 — as well as being a top pipe maker (No. 2 in the most recent PN ranking).

"Recycling and sustainable practices are a key part of our business, so this partnership is an excellent opportunity to highlight that work while giving back to the central Ohio community where we live, work and play," ADS CEO Scott Barbour said.

I'm a fan of the United Kingdom's Great British Bake Off. (Or the Great British Baking Show, as it's known in the U.S. for trademark reasons.) And now we have a crossover between baking and plastics.

To market the new season, the U.K.'s Channel 4 added vinyl wraps to buildings, buses and trucks to mimic cakes and other treats. In Glasgow, Scotland, that meant turning a multistory building into the image of a 78-foot-tall, five-layer cake via vinyl wrap. There's also a separate sculpture of a 23-foot fork topped with whipped cream and a cherry adjacent to the giant cake.

Advertising company Talon worked with Channel 4 on the marketing.

"People love indulging in the Bake Off escapism every year; it's just so gloriously fun," Amber Kirby, marketing director for Channel 4, said.