IB Indicator

0. That’s the number of General Motors plants closing in Northeast Ohio.

With a flurry of plant closings nationwide spurred by the automaker’s impending bankruptcy, this is great news in itself. But it doesn’t mean local businesses and auto manufacturing suppliers won’t see some negative impacts from the problems in Detroit.

John Colm, president and executive director of manufacturing industry cheerleader WIRE-Net, says that within a few miles from his company’s Cleveland offices “there are probably 80 automotive supply plants that are just barely hanging on” because of decreased spending in the automotive industry.

The sparing of the region’s GM plants affects businesses beyond those directly involved with auto parts.

Xcel Mold and Machine Inc. is a tier-two supplier in North Canton, meaning they make molds for another manufacturer who then makes the parts that are delivered to GM. If GM isn’t buying from Xcel’s customers, Xcel’s business will suffer, says company owner Bruce Cain.”The trickle through the economy is huge. People just don’t think about that.”

The trickle-down goes all the way to businesses like Lordstown’s California Pizza and Things. This locally owned restaurant sits about a mile away from the Lordstown GM Complex. Manager Mark McGrail says that the plant accounts for 50 percent of his shop’s revenue.

“We deliver a lot of food over to the plant at lunch and dinner,” he says. “We would struggle to stay open without the plant’s business.”

So while the latest automotive news is good, Colm suggests any optimism should be tempered.

“We’ve dodged one bullet,” he says. “But there is a hailstorm of bullets coming at us.”