Photo by Jeffrey Sauger for General Motors

This morning in metals news: General Motors announced a partnership with Nikola Corporation; U.S. manufacturing corporations saw their profits plunge in Q2 2020; and Chile’s copper shipments fell in August.

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GM announces partnership with Nikola

General Motors on Monday announced plans to partner with Nikola Corporation, a partnership that would see the Detroit automaker manufacture the Nikola Badger.

“As part of the agreement, Nikola will utilize General Motors’ Ultium battery system and Hydrotec fuel cell technology, representing a key commercialization milestone for General Motors,” GM said in a release.

Manufacturing profits decline

To no one’s surprise, manufacturing profits declined significantly in Q2 2020.

After-tax profits for U.S. manufacturing corporations reached $47.2 billion in Q2, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. The quarterly total marked a decline from the $113.0 billion in Q1 2020 and the $136.3 billion in Q2 2019.

Chile’s copper shipments fall in August

According to Bloomberg, No. 1 copper producer Chile saw a decline in the value of its copper shipments last month.

Per data released by the Chilean government today and cited by Bloomberg, Chile’s copper exports totaled $2.76 billion in August, marking an 11% decline from the previous month.

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The Federal Reserve recently reported U.S. industrial production in June increased by 5.4%, building on the 1.4% increase in May.

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This morning in metals news: Nevada Copper announced plans to restart its Pumpkin Hollow mine; the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) commented on the $1 trillion infrastructure bill approved by the U.S. House of Representatives last week; and a Florida community has approved the sale of land for the construction of a $120 million aluminum can manufacturing plant.

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This morning in metals news, productivity was down for a number of manufacturing industries last year, BHP has executed its first blockchain iron ore trade with China’s Baosteel and copper prices continue to surge.

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Before we head into the weekend, let’s take a look back at the week that was and some of the metals storylines here on MetalMiner:

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While positive coronavirus cases are on the rise in several parts of the country, industrial production bounced back in May after posting the largest monthly drop in the history of the Federal Reserve’s industrial production index in April.

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to wreak havoc on economic activity around the world.

That impact was particularly noticeable on the U.S. industrial sector last month.

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The Automotive Monthly Metals Index (MMI) fell 1.3% this month.

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The U.S.’s industrial production levels plunged in March amid efforts aimed at curbing the spread of COVID-19.

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Manufacturers are increasingly questioning whether their supply chain is likely to be exposed to disruption from the coronavirus outbreak ravaging China.

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Even if your company does not source product directly from China, many companies are still predicting supply chain disruption as the raw materials used by their manufacturing plants — which can be located anywhere in the world — probably originates in China.

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