Auto Manufacturing

Key Points

The automobile industry affects industries that manufacture steel, glass, plastics, and rubber, as well as those that refine and sell gasoline, build roads, and maintain, repair, and sell motor vehicles.

Chicago specializes in motor vehicle parts manufacturing, but has a strong presence in all subsectors of the auto manufacturing industry. Chicago’s motor vehicle parts sectors added 425 jobs from 2015 to 2016.

In addition to its strengths as a center for advanced manufacturing, Chicago functions as one of the country’s main transportation hubs. Centrally located, Chicago provides companies unparalleled access to both domestic and international markets.

Rank Among Other U.S. Metros

Chicago: A National Center for Auto Manufacturing

3rd

1st

Auto Manufacturing Employment

Iron Forging and Stamping Employment and GRP

Gross Regional Product$3.4 Billion

Workforce27,311 Employees

Number of Companies515

Jobs Industry

11,059 Motor Vehicle Parts

7,672 Forging and Stamping

4,145 Motor Vehicle Mfg.3,449 Foundries

515 Body &Trailer Mfg.471 Other Transport

Auto Mfg. Employment By Subsector, Chicago Metro, 2016

Trad

e Sh

ows

Trade Show Location Date Highlights

Automechanika Chicago Chicago July 26-29, 2017 Showcases latest technology with 450 exhibiting companies and 6,000 attendees

Chicago Auto Show Chicago Feb. 10-209 2018 First staged in 1901, the Chicago Auto Show is the largest auto show in North America.

International Manufacturing Technology Show

Chicago Sept. 14-19, 2020 Largest display and demonstration of global manufacturing technology in the Western Hemisphere

Revised 05/15/17

Source: Moody’s Analytics, 2016

3rd Foundries Employment

Company Local Employees

Ford Motor 4,992Navistar International 3,055Omron Automotive Electronics 700Morse Automotive 700BorgWarner Transmission Systems

638

Johnson Controls 600ZF 580Lear 500Robert Bosch 400Tower Automotive 358Brake Parts 300C.E. Niehoff 260Buhrke 250UGN 250Filtran 200Vapor Bus International 200SK Express 190Elgin Industries 190Hendrickson 150Unity Manufacturing 140

Note: Data reflects NAICS codes 3315 Foundries, 3321 Forging and Stamp, 3361 Motor Vehicle Manufacturing, 3362 Motor Vehicle and Trailer Manufacturing, 3363 Motor Vehicle Parts Manufacturing, 3369 Other Transportation and refers to the Chicago metropolitan statistical area (MSA), a 14-county, tri-state region: Cook, DeKalb, DuPage, Grundy, Kane, Kendall, Lake, McHenry, & Will counties in Illinois; Jasper, Lake, Newton, & Porter counties in Indiana; Kenosha County in Wisconsin.

Source: Hoover’s, Inc. (2014 data), Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (2014 data), Crain’s Chicago Business (2014 data), LinkedIn, U.S. Cluster Mapping (2012 data), Bureau of Labor Statistics Quarterly Census of Employment & Wages (Q3-2014 and Q3-2015 data), Moody’s (2013-2015 data)

Rec

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ro• Ford’s assembly plant in Chicago’s Far South Side doubled its exports over the last three years. The

facility, which added more than one thousand workers in 2011, has a dedicated export center that upgrades and inspects nearly 60,000 cars every year for the global market.

• Freedman Seating, a transportation seating manufacturer, expanded into a new space on Chicago’s West Side in 2015 and will add 75 jobs by 2017.

• Lear Corporation, a global supplier of automotive seating and electrical distribution systems, is expanding its operations in Portage, Indiana, creating up to 96 jobs by 2019.

• The Federal Reserve’s twenty-first annual auto symposium forecasts that auto manufacturing suppliers launched a record number of new programs in 2015, which could lead to additional growth in Chicago’s motor vehicle parts sector.

• UGN Inc. Chief Financial Officer Randy Khalaf was named Chicago CFO of the Year by Financial Executives International. UGN, a producer of high-quality acoustic, interior trim, and thermal management products for the auto industry, is based in Tinley Park and has factories in Valparaiso and Chicago Heights.

World Business Chicago is a public-private, non-profit partnership that drives inclusive economic growth and job creation, supports business, and promotes Chicago as a leading global city. For more information visit worldbusinesschicago.com or call 312.553.0500.