Kickstart: Auto sales revving up - Plastics News

The U.S. auto market is booming, and not just when comparing sales in March 2021 to those in early in the pandemic in March 2020.

Jeff Schuster, the global automotive forecaster for LMC Automotive, noted on Twitter that sales data for the month released by automakers shows that March 2021 was the second-strongest March for sales since 2000.

"FOMO (fear of missing out) and more optimistic view of recovery drive U.S. light vehicle sales to a 17.9 million [seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales] in March, shattering expectations despite lowest inventory level in years," he wrote.

Toyota saw its sales climb 87 percent for March 2021 vs. 2020, while Honda posted a staggering 93 percent increase, according to our sister paper Automotive News.

General Motors Co. said in a news release that the U.S. sales rate was running at an average of 16.7 million vehicles.

"Consumer confidence and spending will continue to increase due to stimulus, rising vaccination rates and the progressive reopening of the economy," said Elaine Buckberg, GM chief economist. "Auto demand should remain strong throughout the year."

Now if only the industry can get all the parts it needs to keep up with demand. That includes resin for seating, interior and exterior trim and microchips. Supply shortages have forced global automakers to halt assembly of even some of their most popular vehicles this year.

When the COVID-19 pandemic spread, a lot of companies and people looked at what they could do to improve things.

Haley Lowry, global sustainability director for Dow Inc., focused on some of the most vulnerable people around the world: waste pickers.

"Waste pickers salvage both reusable and recyclable materials that have been discarded by others and sell the material to provide an income for themselves and their family. They are uniquely skilled at identifying and collecting valuable waste — either buying waste directly from households and organizations or picking materials directly from streets, landfills and informal dumpsites," she wrote on Dow's website. "The workers operate on the front line — keeping waste out of our environment and accelerating us toward a more circular economy."

Lowry pointed people to the Waste Collector COVID-19 Support Fund to provide financial assistance.

Now Lowry has been recognized by the World Economic Forum as a Young Global Leader for 2021 for her work.

"These young leaders exemplify what we need most today: hope, empathy, authenticity and the drive to develop solutions that can change the world for the better," WEF said. Frank Esposito has more on the recognition for Lowry.

Perhaps you saw Lego's social media post last week about its new "SmartBrick" Legos, with the ability to move out of the way of your shoeless feet (one of the better corporate April Fools' items last week, and something we all wish was real).

But this item from police in France isn't a joke. Toy shops near Paris have been targeted by international thieves attempting to steal valuable Lego collector sets, according to The Guardian.

Police arrested three people caught raiding toy shops in search of highly prized sets.

Packs such as those used to build a Lego Millennium Falcon or an ABS Taj Mahal can sell for thousands of dollars on the black market. Similar thefts and arrests have taken place in the U.S., Australia and Canada, according to The Guardian.

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