More recent numbers were not available Thursday, but state figures from 2005 show that Missouri’s automobile industry employed about 36,500 people. That was nearly 12 percent of the state’s total manufacturing employment and accounted for 1.8 percent of Missouri’s gross state product.

Locally, few companies in this region deal directly or indirectly with Detroit’s three automotive giants, said Rob O’Brian, president of the Joplin Area Chamber of Commerce.

Ball-bearing manufacturer FAG Bearings, which has a Joplin plant, no longer makes bearings for the automotive industry, O’Brian said.

A division of Carthage-based Leggett & Platt Inc., called Leggett & Platt Automotive Group, provides automotive seat support and lumbar systems for the automotive industry. Operations for Leggett & Platt Automotive Group include a plant in Carthage, called Flex-O-Lators, that employs 180 people, said Susan McCoy, director of investor relations.

But Leggett & Platt Automotive Group’s market is international, McCoy said, and includes Europe, Asia and North America. Revenue from the automotive group’s North American markets accounted for 4 percent of the company’s total revenue last year, McCoy said.

The company could have some layers of insulation from what happens in Detroit because of the diversity of its North American market. McCoy said the North American market for Leggett & Platt Automotive Group does not involve just the three Detroit-based companies but many major automakers. Additionally, the company often does not supply the products directly to the automakers but to other suppliers that do, she said.

McCoy declined to comment on the proposed $25 billion loan for automakers.

O’Brian said the one notable exception to the auto industry’s local impact is the Superior Industries plant in Pittsburg, Kan., which makes aluminum wheels for light trucks and sport utility vehicles.

Company officials announced in August that the plant would close in mid-December, saying the American automotive industry is struggling with the shift from gas-guzzling SUVs and trucks to smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles. The plant employs about 600 people.

Last week, the California-based company reported a net loss of $14.2 million for the third quarter.

In Pittsburg, Superior’s customers consisted of the Big Three automakers, principally General Motors.

Richard La Near, a business professor at Missouri Southern State University, said he opposes the $25 billion loan proposal for automakers because it would effectively reward failed practices that have been at work in the industry for years.

La Near said many of the industry’s troubles stem from its high cost for labor, particularly retirement and health benefit packages that unions have been able to acquire.

La Near also said he fears that a bailout package for automakers would lead to more companies asking for bailouts.

“The bailout is getting way out of hand,” he said.