Squeezed by rising costs and falling production volumes at General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co., North American powder metal producers and fabricators are looking to new 6-, 7-and 8-speed transmissions to help boost their fortunes in the auto industry. Analysts at Swedish powder metal producer Hoeganaes Corp. expect per-vehicle use of their specialized parts to increase steadily in the North American Free Trade Agreement region through 2010, but the falling market share of the world's two biggest users of the technology - GM and Ford - is slowing overall poundage growth. Typical U.S. Big Three cars contain about 43 lbs. (20 kg) of PM parts, while vehicles designed in Europe and Japan contain about 20 lbs., (9 kg) and 18 lbs. (8 kg), respectively.
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