Strategic Leadership Series
Lithium, nickel, cobalt, copper, rare earths, steel, and aluminum — the core commodities of both ICE and EV platforms — are entering a period of sustained volatility. Prices are increasingly influenced by geopolitics, decarbonization policy, and export controls. Traditional procurement and hedging strategies are ill-suited for this level of unpredictability.
Lithium will remain volatile due to uneven global investment and varying national policies. Nickel faces supply uncertainty as Indonesia and the Philippines reassess export frameworks. Copper supply growth is stagnating, and North American infrastructure expansion will increase demand pressure. Steel and aluminum are being reshaped by carbon-border adjustments and green-steel incentives.
OEMs often underestimate the downstream effects of these shocks: cost creep in thermal systems, wiring harnesses, electronics, crash structures, and battery enclosures. Suppliers face liquidity risks as input prices swing, making cost-plus contracts increasingly unstable.
CFOs need commodity-integrated financial models that embed scenario variance, regulatory pathways, and geopolitical triggers.
How Arcus Can Help
Arcus builds commodity-risk models tailored to automotive portfolios, integrating geopolitical signals, regulatory scenarios, and supply-chain dependencies. We help CFOs redesign capital-planning frameworks to withstand high-variance cost cycles.
Next step: Engage Arcus for a Commodity Volatility Exposure Map to identify which components and business units are at highest risk.
Automotive Sector
The North American Auto Supply Chain Is Quietly Fracturing — CEOs Have 12–18 Months to Rebuild It
EV Adoption Is Slowing — But Battery Complexity Is About to Explode
Why North American OEM Profit Pools Are Shifting Faster Than CFO Models Can Track
The Next Regulatory Shock: Canada–US Divergence on EV Policy Will Reshape the Industry by 2030
Why Thermal Management Is Becoming the New Battleground for EV Reliability (and Brand Trust)
Software Failure Is the New Recall: Why OEMs Need an Operating Model Built for Continuous Deployment
Why North America’s Dealer Model Is Quietly Becoming a Strategic Liability for OEMs
Commodity Volatility Is Rewriting Automotive Cost Structures — and CFOs Need New Playbooks
The Next Big Aftermarket War: Predictive Maintenance Is About to Upend OEM–Dealer–Supplier Economics
The Rising Cyber Threat: Why Automotive CEOs Must Prepare for a Multi-Vector Attack Era
North America’s EV Charging Build-Out Is Decelerating — and OEMs Need New Market Assumptions Now
Why Regulatory Complexity Is Becoming a Hidden Cost Driver Across the Automotive Value Chain
The New Talent Crisis: Automotive Workforce Gaps Will Hit Critical Levels by 2028
The Supplier Solvency Crunch: Why Tier-2 and Tier-3 Failures Will Hit OEMs Harder Than Any Recession
Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) Is Coming Faster Than OEMs Expected — But Business Models Are Not Ready
Why Platform Consolidation Is About to Become the Dominant Competitive Strategy in North America
The Quiet Crisis in Automotive Logistics: A Cost Storm Is Forming Across North America
Arcus offers clients a unique combination of fact-based industry knowledge and superior functional expertise. Our consultants have an average of over 22 years experience, twice the industry average. Find out more about our growth, change management and operations services.
At Arcus we believe that a strategy is only as good as the results it delivers. Strategic outcomes are most predictable and effective when companies develop a portfolio of initiatives that are aligned with core competencies and aligned activities enable the company to offer a superior value proposition.
Please contact Arcus for case studies and to discuss how we can help you.
Service coverage
The variety, breadth, and depth of the projects where Arcus can be a resource are made unique by each client’s specific needs. By providing a very small sample of projects we’ve completed, we can help you understand how and when to use our services. Visit the links below to find out more about a specific problem or opportunity you would like to address.
Below is a sample of the range of services that Arcus has provided to clients.
- A survey of 2,350 consumers and 1,320 business leaders for feedback on sustainability trends
- Architecting a multi-year change strategy for a Fortune 500 company
- Mentoring a CEO on organizational change
- Excellence transformation of a leading B2B services company
- Creating a new sales deployment model for a healthcare company
- Developing a position evaluation and compensation model for a professional medical association
- Improving services to customer segments by deepening their understanding of customer attitudes
“Arcus manages to consistently deliver tangible results on market research and strategy projects. They combine deep business expertise, powerful research capabilities, and innovative thinking to deliver substantial value.”
– Vice President, Nikon
Data Dashboards
- Empower your decision-making with comprehensive, trusted data.
- Gain actionable insights with access to real-time Canadian consumer, business and sector spending and location data.
- Inform economic policy, investments, sales deployment and strategic plans by looking at trends across different industries and regions in Canada.
- Influence your businesses’ future growth plans by understanding consumer behaviour
Media Coverage
Arcus has been quoted extensively in media on a range of topics and can offer research studies, insights and ideas. Here are some examples from the Globe and Mail, BNN, CTV, Global TV and others.
- Klarna on the evolution of digital payment tech – BNN
- Canada’s retail sector round up – BNN
- Buy now, pay later will become a $950M industry in Canada – BNN
- Nordstrom countdown to opening begins – Toronto Star
- No lineups outside stores in five years – BNN
- Black Friday retail, marketing, and cross-border shopping trends – BNN
- Does global expansion need a local flavour? – Globe and Mail
- Art of the Pitch – Protect company’s interests when approaching giants – Globe and Mail
- Off-the-shelf technology or a custom design? – Globe and Mail