North American auto assemblies slip in September

North American auto assemblies fell by nearly 7% from August, but were still ahead of July’s 20-month low. Assemblies were also down just under 1% year on year (y/y), according to LMC Automotive data.

Auto production has fluctuated some after the typical summer slowdown from scheduled outages for maintenance programs, facility updates, and model-year changeovers. After recovering in August, September’s step back in assemblies comes as carmakers continue to downgrade and adjust vehicle output to meet curtailed market demand. The trend highlights the slew of recent WARN notices and layoffs.

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.