CSM Automotive Production Barometer (APB) -- February 2005

DETROIT, Feb. 11, 2005 -- CSM Worldwide, the leading provider of market intelligence and forecasting to the automotive industry, announces the release of the February 2005 CSM Automotive Production Barometer(TM). Released in advance of existing sources of information, this new service provides an accurate tally of light vehicle production for the previous month to assist automotive economists and financial analysts in their ongoing industry evaluations.

"Our Automotive Production Barometer is intended to mirror and expand on the Federal Reserve's estimate of U.S. light vehicle production," said Greg Mount, chief economist at CSM Worldwide. "With our industry knowledge, historical record-keeping and expertise in forecasting, we're able to provide an accurate count of U.S. and aggregate North American light vehicle production an average of three to four days in advance of the Federal Reserve's report. In an industry where minutes can matter, we see this as a significant advantage."

The CSM Automotive Production Barometer for February 2005 is currently available via the CSM Worldwide website: http://www.csmauto.com/auto-production-barometer . Subsequent reports will be posted to the same location on or near the 11th of each month, with a teleconference to discuss the report and other issues related to the light vehicle market. The teleconference is scheduled for February 11, 2005, at 10:00am EST and will begin with a brief review of U.S. production results followed by a question and answer session lasting approximately 15 minutes. To access the conference call, please dial 1-866-246-6870.

Light vehicle production in the U.S. market declined 2.6% over last month to a seasonally adjusted rate of 11.41M units in January and down 5.3% year-over-year on an adjusted basis. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, January was down 5.4% year-over-year at 0.86M units. The weak month was not unexpected as General Motors, Ford, and DaimlerChrysler implemented downtime to combat mounting inventory.

U.S. light truck production slipped to a 62.3% share of total build for the month to 7.11M units on a seasonally adjusted basis, the lowest share since September 2003. In contrast, car output spiked to their highest adjusted share since June 2003 to 4.3M units. Light truck production declined 4.9% in January compared to a 1.5% increase for cars on an adjusted basis.

North American production declined 5.2% in January compared to last month, but slipped 1.9% versus last year to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 15.35M units.

For more information regarding the release schedule and for a detailed history and expanded analysis of the CSM Automotive Production Barometer (APB), visit http://www.csmauto.com/ or contact Joseph Langley, Market Analyst, North American Vehicle Forecasts, at 248.380.9000.

CSM Worldwide (http://www.csmauto.com/ ) supports more than 350 of the world's top automakers, suppliers and financial organizations with global market intelligence and forecasting services. With corporate offices in Detroit, CSM Worldwide covers the global automotive environment from London, Frankfurt, Paris, Tokyo, Shanghai, Sao Paulo, Singapore, Bangalore and Budapest.

Web sites: http://www.csmauto.com
http://www.csmauto.com/auto-production-barometer