Daimler aims to expand supplier base in US state of Alabama

Daimler’s Mercedes-Benz “sees value” in having more suppliers in the US state of Alabama, where it has a factory in Tuscaloosa, the company said Tuesday.

Daimler said having more local suppliers increased overall flexibility, reduced transport times and improved manufacturing and logistics costs.

“Overall, this results in con- siderably increased efficiency,” the company said in a statement.

Two years ago the company had unveiled plans to invest another $1.3 billion to expand sport utility vehicle (SUV) production at the Tuscaloosa Mercedes-Benz factory.

“These are exciting times for our Alabama facility as we prepare to take on this new challenge to build the next generation of SUVs,” Jason Hoff, president and CEO of Mercedes-Benz US International, said in a statement that followed discussions with selected suppliers last week.

Daimler’s comments come after renewed focus on Germany’s trade surplus with the US.

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump took to Twitter to attack Germany partly for its trade policies, flagging the country’s “massive trade deficit with Germany.”

Both Mercedes-Benz and BMW have factories in the US where they build highermargin sport utility vehicles (SUVs) for export to Asia and Europe.

Trump in January had warned German car companies he would impose a border tax of 35 percent on vehicles imported to the US market, a plan that drew sharp rebukes from Berlin and hit the automakers’ shares.