Steel Markets
Stellantis, Toyota, Nissan, and Honda Release Summer Downtime Schedules
Written by David Schollaert
June 21, 2022
Several North American automakers have confirmed planned summer outages for maintenance programs, facility updates, and model-year changeovers to Steel Market Update (SMU).
Some outages are starting this month, while others can be seen as late as August, but the bulk of the scheduled downtime will be seen throughout the month of July.
Stellantis – Chrysler’s European parent company – together with Toyota, Nissan, and Honda told Steel Market Update (SMU) that the chip- and parts-related stoppages that had once crippled the industry for the better part of 18 months have been minimal for much of the year.
“No production delays or disruptions on our end, but it is still a fluid situation,” said Nissan’s spokesperson.
“Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate manufacturing impact,” said a company spokeswoman. “The situation continues to be very fluid, we are making production adjustments as necessary to minimize additional production impact.”
Nissan will shut down US production at its assembly facilities in Smyrna, Tenn., and Canton, Miss., for two weeks – from June 27 to July 10.
Toyota will pause production for one week at its 14 North American plants in the US, Canada, and Mexico. Downtime will begin on July 18 and is expected to run through July 22.
Honda will similarly start the automaker’s annual week-long summer shutdown beginning July 4 for its US and Canadian facilities. Its plant in Celaya, Gto., Mexico, will have a similar shutdown later.
Stellantis said that downtime will vary from facility to facility, while its Saltillo Van Assembly Plant in Mexico and the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit, Mich., will not observe a summer shutdown due to extended downtime for model year conversions earlier in the year.
The following Stellantis North American assembly plants will observe a shutdown this summer for one week to undergo maintenance and other facility updates:
- Belvidere Assembly Plant (Illinois) – down the week of July 18
- Detroit Assembly Complex – Mack (Michigan) – down the week of June 27
- Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (Michigan) – down the week of August 22
- Warren Truck Assembly (Michigan) – down the week of June 27
- Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio) – down the week of July 25
- Brampton Assembly Plant (Ontario) – down the week of July 4
- Windsor Assembly Plant (Ontario) – down the week of July 4
- Saltillo Truck Assembly Plant (Mexico) – down the week of July 4
- Toluca Assembly Plant (Mexico) – down the week of August 8
The carmaker said that powertrain, stamping, and component plants will align work patterns to support assembly production schedules.
By David Schollaert, David@SteelMarketUpdate.com
David Schollaert
Read more from David SchollaertLatest in Steel Markets
GrafTech’s Q2 loss widens in ‘challenging’ business environment
GrafTech cited a “challenging” part of the business cycle as its net loss widened in the second quarter.
CRU: Poor steel margins continue to push down raw material prices
Both iron ore and coking coal prices fell this week because of resistance from buyers. Iron ore prices have continued to fall throughout the past week, following sharp declines in steel prices in China, given no new policy announcement from the ‘Third Plenum’ meeting.
Op-Ed: The myth of the Mexican steel surge
We have heard ominous warnings about a flood of Mexican steel threatening the US market. It's the kind of rhetoric that gets thrown around often with little regard for the facts. The reality is that the Mexican steel surge is simply not happening, and the US steel industry has consistently maintained a significant trade surplus in finished products with Mexico. In 2023 alone, this surplus exceeded $3 billion.
CRU: Demand weakness continues to weigh on global sheet markets
Demand has remained persistently weak across the globe for sheet steel, weighing on prices. US HR coil prices fell the furthest this week as high-volume, low-priced deals were transacted as mills looked to fill order books and competed with one another amid relative demand weakness. Meanwhile, European prices were also down due to low demand […]
Influx of coated products fuels recent import surge
Steel imports fell back in May from April’s recent high but remained elevated compared to the levels seen over the past year. A deeper dive into the data confirms what SMU has been hearing from sources: Coated sheet is driving the recent rise in overall import levels.