Chip shortage forces GM to halt production at Indiana plant
General Motors is closing its pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for two weeks next month because the company runs out of computer chips. The auto industry continues to face supply chain issues more than a year after a global chip shortage emerged in late 2020. Chip supplies have improved in the first three months of this year over 2021, GM said, improving production and deliveries in the first quarter. But the supply of chipmakers remains uncertain. The Fort Wayne plant will be closed the weeks of April 4 and April 11. It works three shifts a day to build Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The plant employs over 4,000 blue collar workers. “There is always uncertainty and unpredictability in the semiconductor supply base, and we are actively working with our suppliers to mitigate potential issues in the future,” GM said Friday. All of GM’s North American assembly plants have operated at least one shift since Nov. 1 last year, the company said. Throughout the chip shortage, GM has sent most of the semiconductors it receives to pickup trucks and large SUV factories. These are the company’s most profitable vehicles. Earlier this week, GM Chairman Mark Reuss said he was confident the company could navigate its way through supply chain challenges, including chips and potential metal shortages. rare earths caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We are not a new automaker. We have a lot of volume, a lot of partnerships. We have over 20,000 suppliers, $88 billion worth of material that we use in this chain to make our cars, trucks and crossovers,” he said. “We’re not new to this game. We work on it every day, and it’s never over.” closing factories to help prevent the spread of the virus and some parts companies have canceled orders for semiconductors. At the same time, with tens of millions of people hunkered down at home, demand for laptops, tablets and game consoles, technology heavily reliant on computer chips, and although car factories were closing, demand of vehicles remained surprisingly strong. When automakers began to open their factories, they found that chipmakers had shifted production to other electronics purchased in large quantities by people sheltering at home, creating a shortage of quality chips. weatherproof cars. Chip production began to rebound in late spring as the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus hit Malaysia and other Asian countries where chips are finished and other auto parts are manufactured. Automakers and many analysts have said they expect chip shortages to ease in the second half of this year, but not return to near-normal levels until 2023.
General Motors is closing its pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, for two weeks next month because the company runs out of computer chips.
The auto industry continues to face supply chain issues more than a year after a global chip shortage emerged at the end of 2020.
Chip supplies improved in the first three months of this year compared to 2021, GM said, improving production and shipments in the first quarter. But there is still uncertainty about supply from chipmakers.
The Fort Wayne plant will be closed the weeks of April 4 and April 11. She worked three shifts a day making Chevrolet Silverados and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. The plant employs over 4,000 blue collar workers.
“There is still uncertainty and unpredictability in the semiconductor supply base, and we are actively working with our suppliers to mitigate potential issues going forward,” GM said Friday.
All of GM’s North American assembly plants have operated at least one shift since Nov. 1 last year, the company said. Throughout the chip shortage, GM has sent most of the semiconductors it receives to pickup trucks and large SUV factories. These are the company’s most profitable vehicles.
Earlier this week, GM Chairman Mark Reuss said he was confident the company could handle supply chain challenges, including microchips and possible rare earth metal shortages caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
“We’re not a new automaker. We have a lot of volume, a lot of partnerships. We have over 20,000 suppliers, $88 billion of material that we use in this chain to make our cars, trucks and crossovers,” did he declare. noted. “We’re not new to this game. We work on it every day, and it’s never over.”
The roots of the computer chip shortage plaguing the auto and other industries stem from the eruption of the pandemic in early 2020. US automakers had to close factories to help prevent the spread of the virus and some parts companies have canceled semiconductor orders.
At the same time, with tens of millions of people hunkered down at home, demand for laptops, tablets and game consoles, a technology heavily reliant on computer chips, has exploded.
And although car factories were closing, demand for vehicles remained surprisingly strong. When automakers began to open their factories, they found that chipmakers had shifted production to other electronics purchased in large quantities by people sheltering at home, creating a shortage of automotive-grade chips. weather resistant.
Then, just as auto chip production began to rebound in late spring, the highly contagious delta variant of the coronavirus hit Malaysia and other Asian countries where chips are finished and other auto parts are manufactured.
Automakers and many analysts have said they expect the chip shortage to ease in the second half of this year, but not return to near-normal levels until 2023.