Steel Markets
Honda Takes Chip-Related Outage; Stellantis, Summer Downtime
Written by David Schollaert
July 28, 2022
American Honda Motor Co., Honda’s North American subsidiary, has paused some production at three assembly plants this week because of the ongoing parts and microchip shortages, a company spokesperson told Steel Market Update (SMU).
Honda’s Greensburg, Ind., assembly plant, Marysville Auto Plant Line 1 in Ohio, and Honda Canada Manufacturing Plant Line 2 in Alliston, Ontario, have all suspended production for the week of July 25.
Honda said it continues to manage supply chain issues related to several factors including Covid, port congestion and the microchip shortage. “Our purchasing and production teams continue to carefully manage the available supply of parts to run production and meet the needs of our customers.”
The disruption will impact a wide range of vehicles, including the Honda Accord, sedan and hybrid, Honda Civic, and CR-V crossover SUV as well as the Insight Sedan, and Acura’s TLX and ILX models.
In addition to the outages, the spokesperson noted that other North American operations have adjusted production this week based on parts supply availability. “But as this is a fluid situation, we are unable to provide specific facility or model information,” they said.
Stellantis – Chrysler’s European parent company – said planned summer outages for maintenance programs, facility updates, and model-year changeovers are still underway at a few assembly plants. Those include:
- Toledo Assembly Complex (Ohio) – down the week of July 25
- Toluca Assembly Plant (Mexico) – down the week of August 8
- Sterling Heights Assembly Plant (Michigan) – down the week of August 22
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
Steel market participants mull the impact of US/Mexico S232 negotiations
Steel market participants learned that negotiations between the US and Mexico include discussions about Section 232 tariffs on steel and aluminum despite President Trump’s June 3 proclamation increasing the tariffs from 25% to 50% for all steel and aluminum imports—except for those from the UK.
ArcelorMittal plans wire-drawing closure in Hamilton, shifts production to Montreal
ArcelorMittal’s (AM) Hamilton location to be shuttered, wire production shifting to Montreal.
Tariffs, ample domestic supply cause importers to shift or cancel HR import orders
Subdued demand is causing importers to cancel hot-rolled (HR) coil orders and renegotiate the terms of shipments currently enroute to the US, importers say. An executive for a large overseas mill said customers might find it difficult to justify making imports buys after US President Donald Trump doubled the 25% Section 232 tariff on imported steel […]
CRU Insight: A 50% S232 tariff will raise US steel prices and shift trade flows
This CRU Insight examines how the increase in Section 232 tariffs on steel to challenging levels will lead to significatively higher prices for end consumers in the US market.
Steel market shakes tariffs off amid weak demand
Service centers and distributors contend that weak demand is to blame for the flattening of domestic steel spot prices, as reflected in Nucor Steel’s weekly Consumer Spot Price (CSP) notice. On Monday, the Charlotte, North Carolina-headquartered steel producer left prices unchanged from the previous week. Nucor has maintained prices of plate produced in Brandenburg since March 28.