GM, Stellantis Extend Downtime into August at NA Plants on Shortages

Dearborn, Mich.-based Ford – the crosstown rival of GM and Stellantis (formerly Chrysler) – had already said that it would be idling some of its North American assembly plants into August.

“These most recent scheduling adjustments are being driven by temporary parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets experiencing COVID-19 restrictions,” a GM spokeswoman told SMU. The Detroit-based automaker expects the latest chip shortage to be “a short-term issue,” she added.

GM had previously said that it was opting not to take summer downtime at some facilities because it had secured sufficient chips to make up for production lost earlier in the year.

Stellantis sounded a similar note. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” a company spokeswoman said.

Here is where things stand now with GM:

• GM’s assembly plant in Lansing/Delta Township, Mich., will take downtime beginning the week of July 19 and continuing through the week of July 26. The plant builds the Chevrolet Traverse and the Buick Enclave SUVs.

• The company’s Spring Hill, Tenn., assembly plant will take downtime beginning the week of July 19 and continuing through the week of July 26. Spring Hill builds the Cadillac XT5, Cadillac XT6 and GMC Acadia SUVs

• Downtime at GM’s CAMI assembly plant in Ontario, Canada, will be extended through the week of Aug. 16. The automaker had previously announced the plant would take downtime beginning the week of July 19 and through the week of July 26.

• GM’s assembly plant in San Luis Potosi, Mexico, will take downtime beginning the week of July 19 and continuing through the week of July 26. San Luis Potosi builds the Chevrolet Equinox and GMC Terrain compact SUVs.

• The automaker’s assembly plant in Ramos Arizpe, Mexico, will take downtime beginning the week of July 19 and continuing through the week of July 26. The facility builds the Chevrolet Equinox and Chevrolet Blazer SUVs.

But it’s not all bad news. GM said it would resume production of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon pickup trucks at its Wentzville, Mo., assembly plant on Monday, July 19, after previously scheduled downtime to retool for new models.

And here is where things stand with Stellantis:

• The company’s Belvidere, Ill., assembly plant will be down through the end of July. The week of July 19 had been previously scheduled as downtime. Belvidere makes the Jeep Cherokee SUV.

• Its Jefferson North assembly plant in Detroit will be down through Aug. 9. The week of Aug. 2 had been previously scheduled as downtime for new model year changeovers. Jefferson makes the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango SUVs.

• The Stellantis plant in Windsor, Ontario (Canada), will be down through the end of July. The Windsor facility makes the Chrysler Pacifica, Chrysler Voyager and Chrysler Grand Caravan minivans.

• The company’s assembly plant in Toluca, Mexico, is also down through the end of July. The Toluca plant makes the Jeep Compass compact SUV.

Toyota – the world’s largest automaker – expects its North American operations to be impacted by similar issues, but did not provide a status update by facility. “Due to COVID-19 and recent unexpected events, Toyota is likely to experience additional supply shortages that will affect production at some of our North American plants,” a Toyota spokeswoman said.

The chip shortage has limited automotive production all year. But despite that, steel prices have marched relentlessly higher.

Steel Market Update’s galvanized base price is at $2,030 per ton ($101.50 per cwt), up 87% from $1,085 per ton at the beginning of the 2021 and more than triple $650 per ton a year ago, according to SMU’s interactive price tool.

By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com