Steel Markets
Chip Shortage Update: Ford, Chrysler See Downtime
Written by David Schollaert
February 6, 2022
Ford Motor Co. and Stellantis N.V. – Chrysler’s European parent company – are temporarily halting or have recently halted production at some assembly plants because of the continuing global microchip shortage.
Ford will idle production at its Chicago Assembly Plant and its Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., from Feb. 3-13. The downtime will impact production of the Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker’s Explorer, Ranger, Bronco, and Lincoln Aviator assembly lines, a company spokesperson said.
Pacifica minivan production at Chrysler’s Windsor, Ontario, assembly plant saw downtime Feb. 3-4 due to the chip shortage. That comes following a week-long stoppage at the plant on Jan. 24.
It wasn’t all bad news for North American automakers. General Motors, the largest domestic automaker, resumed assembly at its plants in Kansas City, Kan., and in Coahuila, Mexico, on Jan. 31. The Detroit-based automaker said there were no additional chip-related production disruptions.
“Currently, GM is not taking any downtime nor experiencing shift reductions at any of its North America assembly plants due to the global semiconductor shortages,” a company spokeswoman said.
And several of GM’s North American assembly plants are scheduled to run weekend overtime shifts in February. The added shifts include plants that make GM’s full-size trucks and SUVs.
Toyota, Nissan and Daimler all reported steady production. Honda again referred SMU to a stock statement that provides little operational detail.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com
David Schollaert
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