The Heavy-Duty Manufacturers Association, through its partner group the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association (MEMA) has expressed dismay over the collapse of an automotive industry bail-out plan in the US.

The proposed bail-out fell apart when the Senate voted against it after the union representing car plant workers refused to make the necessary concessions. Now, parts suppliers say they fear car company bankruptcies could occur, creating a trickle-down effect to parts makers.

'Valuable domestic manufacturing jobs throughout the United States are at immediate risk and it is too easy now to envision the further damage that our economy will suffer,' said Bob McKenna, MEMA's president and CEO. 'There is simply no way that a vehicle manufacturer bankruptcy will not cause further bankruptcies and extraordinary hardship within the supplier industry.'

It has been speculated that the White House may use a portion of a broader financial bail-out slush fund to be directed towards saving the automakers, a move that MEMA supports.

'This industry is too important to the economic health and well-being of the nation to be left to fail,' McKenna said. 'The fate of domestic manufacturing and hundreds of thousands of jobs are hanging in the balance waiting for action.'