Analysis
October 8, 2021
Chrysler to Idle Illinois Plant Until Month's End on Chip Shortage
Written by Michael Cowden
Stellantis – the Dutch parent company of Chrysler – has extended downtime at one of its U.S. plants because of the ongoing global microchip shortage, a company spokeswoman said.
The Auburn Hills, Mich.-based automaker’s assembly plant in Belvidere, Ill., will be down through the end of October, she said.
“Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry,” the spokeswoman said in an email to Steel Market Update on Friday, Oct. 8.
The Belvidere plant had previously been scheduled to resume production next week. Belvidere makes the Jeep Cherokee SUV.
There was little in the way of additional downtime to report as of Friday afternoon.
Case in point: Detroit-based General Motors – the largest U.S. automaker and Chrysler’s crosstown rival – has no updates this week besides what has been announced previously, a company spokesman said.
And Japanese automaker Toyota, which has significant operations in North America, said it would have no updates until Monday, Oct. 18.
By Michael Cowden, Michael@SteelMarketUpdate.com
