More Parts Producers Give Up on Auto Industry

An increasing number of diversified manufacturers are abandoning the U.S. automobile industry, selling off auto-related businesses and beefing up other parts of their portfolios.
The exposure to the domestic automotive business, battered by global competition that has already forced many auto-component-only producers such as Tower Automotive Inc. and Delphi Corp. into bankruptcy proceedings, has become too worrisome for these producers, while other parts of their businesses are more promising.
That is why PPG Industries Inc., the Pittsburgh-based glass and coatings manufacturer, recently hung a "for sale" sign on its windshield business. And electronics company Motorola Inc. agreed last year to...