Research Paper on:
U.S. Automobile Industry Competitive Analysis

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
buyers have towards the industry is similar to what economists call a monspsony, which simply means there are numerous suppliers for every buyer (Porter, 1998). Under these conditions, the buy  will set the price (Porter, 1998). As Porter says, there are very few real monopsonies (Porter, 1998), however, the fact is that in todays market, buyers hold significant bargaining power  because they will leave one auto brand to get a better deal at another (Porter, 1998). These data demonstrate why the bargaining power of buyers is so strong today: in  2002, the U.S. market for autos and light trucks fell by 1.5 percent, which is 16.9 million vehicles (Miller, 2003). Although the number of vehicles sold decreased, consumer costs increased  by 6 percent (Miller, 2003). At the same time, the Japanese vehicle market share in the U.S. increased by 27.9 percent, German brands increased by 4 percent and Korean brands  increased by 5 percent while the Big 3 American brands market share dropped by 4 percent (Miller, 2003). U.S. automakers are continue to lose market share points to foreign carmakers,  especially to Japanese companies. The demand for new automobiles definitely exceeds production capabilities (US Business Reporter 2002). U.S. carmakers, however, have been emphasizing profitability instead of market share but  profitability is not keeping pace with the loss of sales in a slow economy (US Business Reporter 2002). One type of vehicle that is in demand is the SUV and  all American car manufacturers are attempting to meet this consumer demand (US Business Reporter 2002). In fact, all American automakers now offer at least one SUV model, which is evidenced  by watching commercials on television. These range from the economy to the luxury cars. Another reason the power of buyers is so strong has to do with saturation (US