Please explain this English passage for me.?

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I'm Stark

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It's from an article about General Motors (auto manufacturer):

"GM currently has more than double the standard supply of pickups, and the vehicles are threatening to dampen the automaker's profits for 2013. Typically, automakers try to sustain a 60- to 75-day supply of vehicles, but GM is currently loaded with a 139-day supply, as of last month. At the end of November, the automaker was sitting on 245,853 units."

The passage's overall meaning is about how some of GM's pick-ups models are oversupplied.

But I really could not figure out what "Typically, automakers try to sustain a 60- to 75-day supply of vehicles, but GM is currently loaded with a 139-day supply, as of last month. At the end of November, the automaker was sitting on 245,853 units" means.

So please, explain the above passage for me. Thank you all very much in advance.
 

SoothingDave

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Your native language is English and you can't understand this passage?
 

I'm Stark

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Maybe there was some mistaking during my registration. My native language is not English, I'm sorry.

Your native language is English and you can't understand this passage?
 

bhaisahab

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Maybe there was some mistaking during my registration. My native language is not English, I'm sorry.

What is your native language?
 

bhaisahab

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I'm Stark

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This is the very first time I've entered this forum, and its people are already showing their hostile attitude against me. It's fine if you guys don't want to help me exlpain the said passage, just let me know so I can save my time asking other places.
 

I'm Stark

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Done!

I have figured it out all by myself. Now please?

You should modify your profile so that it shows your correct native language and location.
 

bhaisahab

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"Typically, automakers try to sustain a 60- to 75-day supply of vehicles, but GM is currently loaded with a 139-day supply, as of last month. At the end of November, the automaker was sitting on 245,853 units"

This means that it is normal practise for motor vehicle manufacturers to keep enough vehicles in stock to last 60 to 75 days, GM had enough for 139 days at the end of November, they had 245,853 vehicles in stock.
 

I'm Stark

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Thank you, Bhaisahab.

So the terms "60-day", "70-day" and "139-day" are used to describe the amount of time GM had to keep their vehicles in stock, without getting them sold to dealers, which also means these vehicles are not giving GM any profit staying idle, right?

"Typically, automakers try to sustain a 60- to 75-day supply of vehicles, but GM is currently loaded with a 139-day supply, as of last month. At the end of November, the automaker was sitting on 245,853 units"

This means that it is normal practise for motor vehicle manufacturers to keep enough vehicles in stock to last 60 to 75 days, GM had enough for 139 days at the end of November, they had 245,853 vehicles in stock.
 

SoothingDave

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Let's assume they normally sell 100 trucks a day, then they would normally have in stock (at various dealers around the country) 6000-7500 trucks (60*100). They are not selling as well, so they have 13,900 in stock. (139 *100)

The real number is 245,853 in stock. With that many trucks sitting around unsold, it makes little sense to keep producing more.
 

SoothingDave

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Thank you, Bhaisahab.

So the terms "60-day", "70-day" and "139-day" are used to describe the amount of time GM had to keep their vehicles in stock, without getting them sold to dealers, which also means these vehicles are not giving GM any profit staying idle, right?

I believe they are talking about stock that is already on dealers' lots.

The idea is to have a buffer. You don't want to sell every car on your lot and have to wait for a daily shipment. Sales are not steady, there are busy times and less busy times. The factory runs on an average of how many sales are expected.

People also like having a selection.

If the average vehicle takes 60 to 75 days from the time it was made till it is sold to the consumer, that is OK. It's when the cars are not selling and they start to be on dealer lots for months and months that it is a problem.
 

I'm Stark

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Thank you SoothingDave. You have been extremely helpful.

All the best
 

Barb_D

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Sort of.

To make it easier, let's say that usually 2000 trucks (units) are sold in any day. That means that a two-month supply of trucks would be 60 days x 2000 days = 120,000. If they had 120,000 in stock, they would have had about the right number. But they have more than twice the amount they should have.

The part of your response that makes me say "sort of" instead of "yes" is because you said "the amount of time GM had to keep their vehicles in stock..."

They didn't have to keep them in stock for that long. They have just made too many, so they are staying in stock longer than they should. If they had cut production, they would have less money tied up in inventory.

EDIT: Oops. I missed the second page. Sorry.
 
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