• Skip to main content

    Analysis

    February 15, 2022

    Bridge Opens, Disruptions Ease for North American Automakers

    Written by David Schollaert

    Production at North American auto plants has begun to return to normal now that truckers protesting vaccine mandates have been removed from the Ambassador Bridge over the U.S-Canada border – a major supply route for the North American auto industry. Following a week-long blockade, traffic flow over the bridge Sunday night was a welcome sight for automakers on both sides of the border after widespread delays and outages that began on Feb. 7.

    AutoAssembly2Except for Toyota Motor Corp., all North American carmakers were back to normal operations on Monday, automakers’ representatives told Steel Market Update (SMU). Toyota saw downtime at its U.S. facilities in Alabama, West Virginia and Kentucky, as well as its Canadian assembly plants in Woodstock and Cambridge, Ontario, but expected all plants to be back up and running by close of business on Tuesday, Feb. 15.

    David Schollaert

    David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.

    Read more from David Schollaert

    Latest in Analysis