Debt’s pain deepens

Just as the supply chain is smoothing out and the cadence of production improves, automotive suppliers are now seeing red where balance sheets had long been stable.

e soaring cost of money and tightening credit conditions are hurting liquidity, and in some cases, tipping nancially distressed companies into insolvency.

Small and mid-size suppliers that are heavily leveraged with a large amount of variable interest debt are the most vulnera- ble. at applies to many manufacturers in Michigan, said Steven Wybo, senior restructuring and management consultant at Birmingham-based Riveron.

“For the rst time in over a decade, we’re actually talking about interest rates signicantly impacting businesses’ ability to grow and survive,” he said.

While automakers took in record pro ts over the past couple of years, their suppliers absorbed most of the impact of supply chain snarls by cutting costs, trying to renegotiate contracts and often taking on more debt — a decision that has proved to be costly.

When North Carolina-based Stanadyne LLC, whose creditors include Ford Motor Co. and Autocam Corp., led for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in February, it cited interest rates as the driving force.

See DEBT on Page 17

In the suit led in Wayne County Circuit Court April 6, the city asked the court to compel Urban Renewal Initiative Foundation to seek required approvals and permitting from Detroit for the property within its borders on Je erson Avenue east of Alter Road, to pay unspeci ed nes for violating city code and to pay the costs to restore or replicate the structure it says was unlawfully demolished.

“Grosse Pointe Park’s desire to build a performing arts center is laudable,” said Conrad Mallett Jr., the city of Detroit’s corporation counsel, in a statement forwarded to Crain’s.

“Despite years of cooperative e ort evidenced by Detroit City Council approval of the sale of land located in the city of Detroit’s Je erson Chalmers Historic Business District to Grosse Pointe Park, developers associated with the building project have unfortunately disregarded City of Detroit demolition, construction and Historic District Commission ordinances.

See LAWSUIT on Page 17

Apartment sales dominated the list of biggest commercial real estate deals in 2022. Of the 56 known property sales clocking in at $10 million or more across Southeast Michigan, 27 of them were for apartment buildings. And despite a tougher market, there were plenty of other big deals last year.

MORE REAL ESTATE: Largest general contractors. | Largest o ce sales, o ce leases and industrial sales. SECTION STARTS ON PAGE 9

THE CONVERSATION

New health care

CEO steps up in the face of a tragedy.

Page 18

OPEN

For Business

Host Utica creates space to help launch new restaurateurs.

Page 8