Steel Markets
Chip Shortage Update: GM Pushes Some Plant Outages into September
Written by Michael Cowden
August 5, 2021
General Motors has extended downtime at some auto assembly plants into September because of the ongoing semiconductor shortage.
And the Detroit-based automaker said some of its truck plants would continue to see chip-related outages – a development that is notable because pickup trucks are among GM’s most profitable and in-demand vehicles.
Here is where things stand now with GM:
The automaker’s assembly plants in Flint, Mich.; Ft. Wayne, Ind.; and Silao, Mexico, will be down the week of Aug. 9. They are expected to resume full production Monday, Aug. 16.
The three plants build the popular Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The Mexican facility also makes the Cheyenne pickup.
GM’s assembly plant in Lansing/Delta Township, Mich., has extended downtime to the week of Aug. 9. The facility, which makes the Chevrolet Traverse and Buick Enclave SUVs, has been idle since Monday, July 19.
And the automaker’s San Luis Potosi assembly plant in Mexico, as well as its CAMI assembly plant in Canada, will be down the weeks of Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. Both have been idle since July 19. They had previously been scheduled to resume production on Monday, Aug. 23.
Both plants make the Chevrolet Equinox compact SUV. San Luis Potosi also makes the GMC Terrain compact SUV.
But it’s not all bad news for GM. Its Spring Hill assembly plant in Tennessee and its Ramos assembly plant in Mexico will resume production on Monday, Aug. 9. Both had been idled since July 19.
Spring Hill makes Cadillac SUVs and the GMC Acadia SUV. Ramos makes the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox SUVs.
Also, GM is not without company when it comes to trouble securing enough chips. Stellantis – formerly Chrysler, GM’s crosstown rival – is confronting the same problem.
“The visibility on the supply is not very good … it’s bad. But it is also fair to say that we do not expect it to get worse,” Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during the company’s second-quarter earnings call on Tuesday.
“We expect Q3 to be difficult. But we expect to see some improvement from Q4,” Tavares said.
A Stellantis spokeswoman said no updates were available in regards to specific assembly plants.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
Michael Cowden
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