GM layoffs at truck plant
General Motors Corp. plans to cut a shift at a truck plant in Pontiac, Mich. because of lagging demand for pickups. Potentially hundreds of workers will be laid off to keep production in line with demand. The plant currently makes 45 vehicles per hour. GM plans to cut the second shift in May. The plant employs around 2,700 hourly workers who make the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups. US sales of full-size pickups were off 3% in the first nine months of this year. GM's revamped line of full-size pickups was off two per cent.

Lumber plants mothballed
Weyerhaeuser Co. will indefinitely mothball three plants, two of them in Canada, before the end of 2007 because of weak customer demand amid a sagging housing market. The facilities include Canadian oriented strand board plants in Drayton Valley, Alta., and Wawa, Ont., as well as a laminated strand lumber plant in Deerwood, Minn. The decline in North American housing starts has reduced demand for wood products. About 450 people work at the affected plants.

Linamar to acquire plant in Wales
Auto parts firm Linamar Corp. has signed a memorandum of understanding to acquire Visteon Corp.'s Swansea plant in Wales for an undisclosed price. The plant produces power transfer units, transfer cases and axles. Guelph, Ont.-based Linamar said the acquisition would extend the firm's presence in the drive-line business and complement Linamar's recent acquisition of Ford's PTU business in Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, completed in August. Ford is the main customer of the Swansea operations.

Kurds sign oil deals
Iraq's self-governing Kurdish region has finalized a handful of new oil deals, further straining relations with Baghdad, which wants to centralize control of the country's oil resources. Two contracts have already been signed�one with Heritage Energy Middle East Ltd., a subsidiary of Calgary-based Heritage Oil and Gas, and a second with Perenco SA, an affiliate of a French company of the same name. If exploration leads to oil production, 85% of the profits would go to the government and the remainder would go to the companies. Kurdistan officials said the four contracts are worth about US$500 million, while the new refineries are worth about $300 million.

Malaysia buys 52 MK II rail cars
Bombardier Transportation and its local partner Hartasuma Sdn Bhd have received an additional firm order for 52 Advanced Rapid Transit MK II rail cars for a transit system in Malaysia in a deal valued at about US$100 million. Bombardier's share of the contract to supply the trains for the Kelana Jaya Line is valued at about US$69 million. The purchaser is rail operator Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad, also known locally as SPNB.

Mitsubishi using P&W jet engines
Japanese machinery maker Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is using a Pratt & Whitney engine for its planned small jet, the first "made in Japan" passenger aircraft in three decades. If developed, the jet would likely compete against mid-sized jet makers Bombardier Inc. of Canada and Brazil"s Embraer SA, as well as companies developing jets in China and Russia. The twin-engine jet, which seats 70 to 90, is designed to consume about 20% less fuel than rival jets because they are made with lightweight carbon fibre composite. The jet will cost between $25.6 million to $34.1 million. The first flight is set for 2011.

Battery plant for India
Electrovaya has signed a deal with Electrotherm India Ltd. to set up an advanced lithium battery plant in India. The Toronto-based company, which sells its own proprietary Lithium Ion SuperPolymer battery technology, will have a capacity of up to 10 megawatt hours per month. A new company will be set up to open the plant, with shared ownership between Electrovaya and Electrotherm, a manufacturer of battery operated vehicles in India. Electrovaya will have the exclusive right to export batteries from this plant to overseas customers.