Shortages force more cuts at plants
Demand for tech causes strain on chip supply
Automakers are expanding and extending production cuts at some North American plants as they cope with a worsening global shortage of semiconductors.
Chips for use in cars and trucks have been harder to come by as semiconductor makers have allocated more capacity to consumer products. The pandemic has caused a surge in orders for smartphones, TVs and computers as people try to make extended life at home more bearable, leaving less capacity for a stronger-than-expected rebound in vehicle demand. Recent weather-related disruptions of petrochemical supplies in the southern U.S. and a fire at a chipmaking plant in Japan have exacerbated the shutdowns.
Consultant AlixPartners has said the global chip shortage could cost automakers $61 billion in lost sales this year. The recent
setbacks could further delay an expected second-quarter recovery in output. “Production is shrinking, not increasing, so the balance between supply and demand is only getting worse,” said Takeshi Miyao, an analyst at researcher Carnorama.
Here’s the current situation for major auto manufacturers in North America. General Motors
• March 24: General Motors said its Wentzville, Missouri, assembly plant, which makes the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon, will take two weeks of downtime starting March 29. The company’s Lansing Grand River plant in Michigan is extending downtime by two weeks.
• March 3: Automaker said its Gravatai plant in Brazil would be impacted by downtime in April and May. Ford
• March 22: The company halted production at a commercial vehicle factory in Avon Lake, Ohio, with plans to resume output on March
29. Ford also has dropped one shift at a truck plant in Kentucky until March 29.
• March 21: Ford canceled an extra shift at the truck factory in Kentucky.
• March 18: Ford said in a statement it canceled night shifts for two days at another assembly plant in Louisville -- where it makes the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair -due to the U.S. winter storm in Feb. and chip shortage. Stellantis
• March 20: Stellantis, formed recently from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, said production of its Ram Classic pickup trucks in Warren, Michigan, and Saltillo, Mexico,
will be affected “for a number of weeks.” Nissan
• March 22: The Japanese automaker canceled production at a plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico, from Tuesday through March 24. It also resumed output Monday on an assembly line at a factory in Canton, Mississippi, that had been suspended since March
20.
• March 19: Nissan halted production on another assembly line in Canton from March 19 that it plans to restart on Tuesday. It also stopped a production line at a plant in Smyrna, Tennessee, that it also hopes to restart Tuesday.