Manufacturers fail in a small number of ways, and the production equation predicts most of them, because the factors multiply: a zero anywhere makes the whole product zero. Some cases in brief:
What the study covers
- 1Overview: a zero in any factor
- 2Measures of distress
- 3How manufacturers fail legally
- 4Legacy costs: Bethlehem Steel and the integrated mills (2001–03)
- 5GM, Chrysler and Delphi (2005–09)
- 6Takata (2008–18): when process capability goes to zero in the field
- 7The SPAC wave and hardware busts (2020–25)
- 8Capacity ahead of demand: Wolfspeed (2025)
- 9Products never made: SpaceJet, Dyson's car, the Tata Nano and Northvolt
- 10A plant that could not ramp: Stanley's Fort Worth (2019–23)
- 11Rescued, not failed: Spirit AeroSystems and the near-misses
- 12Who paid
- 13Warning signs
- 14How to read distress and failure claims
- 15Key numbers
- 16Landmark companies and cases
- 17Pitfalls
- 18How an expert thinks about it
- 19Glossary
Technical exhibits
Worked examples, checklists and case studies included with this study.
Bethlehem Steel and Lordstown Motors Case Studies
Two case studies scored against the production equation. Bethlehem Steel (1970s–2003): process lag, legacy costs, the 2001 filing, ISG and the PBGC. Lordstown Motors (2019–24): GM's plant, the SPAC, the pre-order claims, Foxconn, Chapter 11, the SEC settlement and Nu Ride
Companies in this study
- Bethlehem Steel
- General Motors
- Ford Motor
- Stellantis
- Takata
- Lordstown Motors
- Desktop Metal
- 3D Systems
- Wolfspeed
- Lilium
- Mitsubishi Heavy Industries
- Dyson
- Stanley Black & Decker
- Spirit AeroSystems
- Boeing
- Tata Motors
- Thyssenkrupp. In other knowledge bases: Energy: Nikola and Energy: Northvolt; Supply chain: Foxconn for Lordstown's plant; Finance: Ally Financial for GMAC in 2008–09.