ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Tuesday, March 19, 1996                TAG: 9603190073
SECTION: BUSINESS                 PAGE: B-6  EDITION: METRO 
DATELINE: DAYTON, OHIO
SOURCE: Bloomberg Business News

GM STRIKE'S RIPPLES REACH OTHER COMPANIES

General Motors Corp. and the United Auto Workers continued marathon negotiations Monday in a strike that is taking a mounting toll, as competitors are poised to steal business from the world's largest automaker.

Companies that supply goods and services to GM are also feeling the strike, including some in Virginia.

At Norfolk Southern Corp., which serves GM plants in Fort Wayne, Ind., and Wentzville, Mo., and three GM distribution facilities including one in Petersburg, Va., the strike has slowed automotive car loadings and affected railroad workers.

"When we operate fewer trains, we call train crew members less often," explained NS spokesman Bob Auman.

The biggest UAW action against GM since 1970 pushed its layoffs to 150,050 as the company announced the closing of its 25th North American assembly plant, leaving just one plant making passenger vehicles.

At a plant in Lebanon, Va., whose former owner, Automotive Industries Inc., was acquired last year by Lear Corp., 500 workers remain off the job this week, human resources manager Susan Edwards said. The plant makes interior door panels for light GM trucks.

Also, Caterpillar Inc. said Monday it will close an engine assembly line and lay off 115 workers at a plant in Mossville, Ill., starting next Monday. The plant supplies engines for GM Kodiak and GMC TopKick medium-duty trucks.

GM headed into the strike with enough vehicles to withstand a month of limited production, analysts said. As the strike enters its third week today, spot shortages could start sending some buyers to Chrysler Corp. and Ford Motor Co. dealers.

Chrysler reported Monday that it will boost second-quarter production by 25 percent from a year ago, an increase analysts attributed partly to the GM strike.

GM typically makes one-third of all passenger vehicles produced in the United States.

Staff writer Greg Edwards contributed to this story.

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