Automakers See More Downtime on Chip, Parts Shortages

General Motors will take downtime at its Lansing (Mich.) Grand River assembly plant during the week of April 4 due to a nonmicrochip-related parts shortage, a company spokesperson told Steel Market Update (SMU). The downtime will affect production of the Chevy Camaro, Cadillac CT4, and CT5 cars.

The latest disruption for the Detroit-based automaker comes in addition to a two-week semiconductor-related outage at its Fort Wayne, Ind., plant during the weeks of April 4 and April 11. The downtime at Fort Wayne will affect production of top-selling Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup models.

Production at Ford’s Flat Rock, Mich., assembly plant will be suspended the week of April 4 because of a semiconductor shortage. The facility was also shut down in May of last year for the same reason. Ford produces the Mustang sports car at the plant.

“The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford’s North American plants,” a company spokeswoman said. “Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect.”

The Dearborn, Mich.-based automaker’s remaining North American plants will not be affected, she said.

Stellantis, the European parent company of Auburn Hills, Mich.-based Chrysler, will pause production of some high-demand SUVs the week of April 4 because of a lack of chips .

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

The downtime impacts production of the Jeep Grand Cherokee L and Grand Cherokee SUVs at the automaker’s Mack assembly complex in Detroit. Also affected is Jeep Cherokee production in Belvidere, Ill.

Honda, meanwhile, has stretched a production outage initially scheduled for one week to a second week at its assembly plant in Lincoln, Ala. The reason: a shortage of parts – including microchips, a spokesman said.

“Some of our North American operations will adjust production based on parts supply availability,” he said.

The Lincoln facility produces the Honda Passport, Pilot, and TrailSport SUVs as well as the Odyssey minivan and Ridgeline pickup truck.

Toyota North America continued to struggle through chip-related challenges at all its plants, a company spokesperson said. The automaker scaled back its production by an estimated 35,000 vehicles in March, with April reductions also anticipated.

“It’s still a challenging and changing situation,” the spokesperson said.

Nissan, Subaru, and Daimler all reported steady production.

By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com