Maumee-based Dana Inc. posted significantly improved earnings and sales in its fiscal third quarter, despite losing production at two key local axle plants because of the United Auto Workers union’s strike of Detroit Three auto plants.
Dana, a maker of undercarriage parts and EV drives, posted net income of $25 million, or 13 cents per share in the quarter compared with a net loss of $163 million, or 61 cents, in the year-earlier quarter, the company announced Friday.
Revenue in the period jumped to $2.67 billion from $2.54 billion the year prior.
The UAW strike at Jeep’s Toledo Assembly Plant and Ford’s Michigan Assembly stood as two of the initial three plants that the union took down to pressure Ford, Stellantis, and General Motors to the bargaining table.
Dana has a dedicated axle plant for Toledo Jeep employing about 700 and one in Napoleon to produce axles for Michigan Assembly. The axles in Toledo go into the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator mid-sized pickup, while the Napoleon axles go into the Ford Bronco and Ranger small pickup.
Those Dana axle plants went down days after the strikes at Toledo Jeep and Michigan Assembly shut those plants down late Sept. 15.
Dana has a diverse product mix and customer base to weather the strike, Dana officials have said.
"The UAW strike is significantly impacting a number of our operations in North America while our heavy-vehicle business and operations in the rest of the world are largely unaffected," said Timothy Kraus, Dana's senior vice president and chief financial officer.
"Dana remains fundamentally strong due to the strength of our balance sheet and capital structure,” Mr. Kraus said. “If all the UAW strikes are resolved by the end of October, Dana expects sales and profit to be maintained at the midpoint of our previous guidance range. If no resolution is reached by year's end at all our Detroit 3 customers, including Ford, we anticipate our sales to be approximately $500 million lower."
Beyond producing products for light vehicles, Dana has major customers in the commercial truck business and equipment industry.
First Published October 27, 2023, 5:10 p.m.
