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For Craig Cather, president and CEO of CSM Worldwide Inc., accurately forecasting automotive sales requires going beyond the forecasts of the automakers and standard demographic projections.
That's why the automotive forecasting company has opened offices around the globe staffed by automotive insiders from those regions. In fact, Cather said, the annual job performance of CSM's analysts is partly based on the number of meetings they have with industry leaders.
It's a philogophy that works. Since 1996, the company has added six offices overseas and has become one of the three leading automotive forecasting firms in the world. CSM's annual sales have grown from $9 million in 2004 to an expected $20 million this year.
"They are a global company, they are providing a valuable service," said David Cole, chairman of the Ann Arbor-based Center for Automotive Research. "What they do is provide intelligence primarily to suppliers in the industry ... and I think Craig and his team has done a real great job."
CSM acquired the vehicle-production forecasting division of Tustin, Calif.-based AutoPacific in 1996 and later developed a vehiclesales forecasting service.
TRW Automotive said it...