From the Wall Street Journal...

Dana Corp. filed for Chapter 11, making it the latest automotive supplier to seek bankruptcy-court protection.

The Toledo, Ohio, company, which makes brakes, axles and other parts, listed $7.9 billion in assets and $6.8 billion in debts. Dana said its bankruptcy filing was prompted by declining revenue associated with a downturn in the U.S. auto market along with increases in commodity and energy prices. The filing was entered in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York.

"The general financial condition of the industry, together with Dana's inability to renew or expand its credit facilities in a timely manner, has significantly constrained Dana's liquidity," the company said in a statement.

Dana's shares plunged this week after the company failed to make bond coupon payments Wednesday worth $20.8 million. Standard & Poor's and Moody's Investors Service, the two main credit rating agencies, both downgraded their ratings of Dana on Thursday. Fitch Ratings did likewise on Friday.

The company said it has secured a $1.45 billion debtor-in-possession loan provided by Citigroup, Bank of America and J.P. Morgan Chase to fund its operations during its bankruptcy case. Dana will continue operating and said filing for Chapter 11 should provide it with access to necessary capital to implement its business plan and complete the restructuring it began before the bankruptcy filing.

"All of this will enable the debtors to maintain a strong employee and customer base and thereby preserve their position as a leader in the engineering, manufacturing and distribution of automotive, commercial vehicle and off-highway systems and components," Dana Chief Executive Michael J. Burns said in court papers filed with the bankruptcy petition Friday.

Dana owes a group of noteholders $1.6 billion. The company also owes its bank lenders, led by Citicorp, $377 million and has an additional $225 million in debt secured by accounts receivable. The company also said it owes trade creditors about $550 million.

The supplier has been under scrutiny since it reported a steep third-quarter loss in January with re-stated results due to an accounting investigation. Dana, which has annual sales of about $9 billion, hired the restructuring firms Miller Buckfire & Co. and AlixPartners to help with its financial and operational issues. Dana was also being pushed by some of its vendors to make payments in advance, according to attorneys representing vendors to Dana. (See article.1)

A number of longtime auto suppliers, including Delphi Corp. and Collins & Aikman Corp., have filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection during the past year. Visteon Corp., the nation's second biggest auto parts supplier, is closing three plants and putting another six up for sale under its restructuring plan.

Dana, which supplies parts to General Motors Corp., Ford Motor Co. and other automakers, employs about 46,000 workers world-wide. The filing doesn't affect the company's operations in Europe, South America, Asia, Mexico or Canada, the company said.

 

Three large suppliers down how many more are going to follow?

 

till america wakes up...

 

yup 3rd big factory in erie to go down in a year lots of people with no jobs and ge can only hire so many

 

Like thats gonna happen, people are so dead set against the america auto industry that they are willing to go to hell in a hand basket

 

I just cant think its going to get better before it gets worse. and you know what three things come to mind..

Yes american co did it to themselves. But we are undoing it.

Yes it takes time to change opinions, import companies are feeding off that now, hybryid, MPG and reliability...and so on..anything we challenge and win they just go to another thing..the Hybrid, okay go to MPG..okay they are comparable to that go to relyability..and so whats next?. The reputation has been built up over 2 decades, but was the speed of information avalible like it is today? we are on par or even better in alot of ways, but the word is not being spread. THAT IS THE PROBLEM!

We have lost the vision of this country..and for refrence the
"Father, Son, and holy Spirit "
The Father is off trying to fight a war he will never win, and in some ways lacking in his duties here in America because of something he started, its taking alot of otime and effort to finish and he wont ever, this is taking a toll on his problems here in America. The son, The politics and who represent us, they see it smell it and breath it but nothing is done for the same reason the father is distracted. The auto industry is failing for the same reason the import companies are gaining Goverment HELP, we are not helping one of the major lifelines her in this economy. Import companies goverments are hand in hand where ours is telling us to go out and find your way to solve your problems.
The Spirit! The AMERICAN people, we have lost the spirit of what this country means, seams like the information age has let our minds be short sighted and problems that are front page are now yesterdays news and we forget about them. This is why the spirit that makes the auto industry so big is failing we as american are as good as the rest, its just our peers still want to put us down and make us less than what we are. This is hurting us till the final blow and we do have a "shaking of the pillars of heaven" event.
WE have to wake up and see whats going on. YES import companies make great cars, BUT the feild is level except the deck of cards is full of jokers who want to see us fail, for own personal and mislead thoughts, feeling or just missinformed.
The American people have to do what they did when they went to Toyota and had questions back 20 years ago, they gotts do the same but this time to american car companies, but with the lack of respect we are getting people are getting cold feet, where back then the auto industry praised the new cars that now populate CR's top 10, why can it not be the other way around?
sorry for the long post but just venting a little and just typing.

 

Didn't Chrysler use to own Dana, like how Delphi was part of GM?

 

No...not at all.

I believe at one time, it was estimated that something like 95% of all cars in the US had Dana parts in them...they have been a major supplier both for new vehicles and for replacement parts including a huge amount of "NAPA" parts.

They own (or at least they did...I've sort of lost track) such companies as Hurst, Victor Reinz, Wicks filters, and others.

 

Dana has been around for 102 years and now its stock price is down to pennies and has been moved to the Over The Counter market.
As far as GM market share is concerned, maybe people are getting tired of the baggage built in to GM products. Health care accounts for $1500 of every vehicle GM builds. Thats more than the cost of steel in a vehicle. If GM can shed some its legacy costs, it can put more money into products that people may find they want to buy without deep incentives.

 

thats what they are tryingto do TA Jack,

Not that they dont deserve it but the UAW's are fighting that action tooth an nail, they would rahter see GM Fold than loose the ground they have gained.
Kinda biting the hand that feeds you. Funny thing is if GM does go to Chapter 11 then the UAW loose allmost every barganing chip they have to keep what they have earned. Kinda like bite the hand that feeds you, the UAW are putting up alot of protest to not have this happen when if they dont let it happen they will all loose out, so what is the less of two evils...

 

Well maybe if GM would have put dana 60's in the f-bods it would have helped.

 

I hauled a 70 Road Runner with a 440 6 pack, 4 speed and Dana rear end a guy was going to restore and he said those Mopar Danas are worth $2000 now.

 

A guy I know just paid 3200$ for a dana 60 for his 69 1/2 Roadrunner. He said the price was a little high but he was having trouble finding one.