European suppliers outpace U.S. competitors.(Brief Article)

Europe's largest automotive suppliers are generally doing better in North America than domestic competitors, but it has still been a rough year.

All have faced lower volumes, fluctuating production schedules, heavy-handed price-cut pressures and increasing responsibility for design, engineering and warranty expenses.

Sales are dropping from last year's record 17.4 million vehicles in the United States, and volume isn't expected to rebound to that level for a few years.

But Europe's top players have a more diverse roster of customers in the U.S. m