General Motors has idled its Chevrolet Equinox plant in Ingersoll, Ontario, for at least two months due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductors. The plant will remain down through the week of June 28th.
Nissan N.A. Trims Production for May
Nissan will trim North American production in May due to the semiconductor shortage, the automaker said Thursday. Frontier and Titan pickup production in Canton, Miss., will be cut for four days, and Altima sedan assembly will be reduced for eight days in May.
In Smyrna, Tenn., production of the Rogue crossover, Maxima sedan and Leaf electric vehicle will be trimmed two days next month. Murano crossover production will be cut one day next week. In Mexico, production at a factory in Aguascalientes, where Nissan builds the subcompact Versa sedan and compact Kicks crossover, will be halted for seven days in May.
Apr 2021
Subaru Issues Safety Recalls
The automaker is recalling about 466,205 2017-2019 Subaru Impreza and 2018-2019 Crosstrek vehicles for a malfunction connected with the Engine Control Module (ECM). Specifically, the ECM may continue to power the ignition coil after the engine is shut off, causing a short circuit.The recall begins May 28, 2021. Subaru’s number for this recall is WRE-21. Subaru notes that this recall includes all vehicles previously repaired under Recall 19V743.
In a second action, the automaker is recalling an estimated 408,271 2018-2019 Subaru Crosstrek, 2019 Crosstrek Hybrid, and 2019 Forester vehicles because the rear stabilizer bracket bolts may loosen and detach. To fix the problem, Subaru will notify owners, and dealers will retorque and replace any missing bolts, free of charge. The recall begins May 14, 2021. Subaru’s number for this recall is WRD-21.
Apr 2021
Automakers Call for More U.S. Help on Microchips
Major automakers and suppliers pressed Congress again on Tuesday to address the global shortage of semiconductor chips that has curtailed auto production around the world. A U.S. Senate subcommittee heard testimony from auto industry groups urging action to address production of “mature node” chips. The industry backs proposals to spend tens of billions of dollars to boost U.S. semiconductor production and new tax incentives to help chip companies offset costs of creating new lines within existing facilities.
Automakers have warned the shortage could result in 1.3 million fewer vehicles built this year in the U.S. and disrupt some production for at least another six months. Volkswagen’s Mexico unit is planning production stoppages of two of its models next month due to ongoing global chip shortages, the automaker said Tuesday. Volkswagen will suspend output of the compact Tiguan crossover, from May 6th to May 16th, and the compact Jetta sedan, from May 3th to May 19th, the company said.
Apr 2021
Ford Suspends More F-150s and Explorers Over Chip Shortages
Ford Motor Co. informed workers that it is extending downtime at key North American plants because of the ongoing chip shortage between one to two weeks. Ford said the Chicago and Flat Rock, Mich., plants as well as both the F-150 and Transit van sides of its Kansas City, Mo., plant will be down the weeks of May 3rd and 10th. Flat Rock, which builds the Mustang, and Chicago Assembly, which builds the Explorer and Lincoln Aviator crossovers, have been idled since the week of April 12th while Kansas City has been idled since the week of April 19th.
Oakville Assembly in Canada, where workers build the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers, will be down the week of May 3rd. It also has been idled since April 12. Additionally, Ford said production at its Ohio Assembly Plant will be limited to Super Duty chassis cabs and medium-duty trucks the weeks of May 3rd and 10th, continuing limitations that began the week of April 19th. The company also noted that various powertrain and stamping plants would have to adjust their operating patterns to match what’s happening at the assembly plants they serve.
Apr 2021
Rubber Shortage Becomes Latest Problem for Auto Industry
Natural rubber prices hit a four-year high in February at $2 a kilogram. Robert Meyer, the former CEO of the rubber firm Halcyon Agri Corp., told Bloomberg that he envisions prices reaching $5 per kilogram within the next five years. “The supply issues that we’re seeing now, they are structural,” said Meyer, who now works as a managing director for Angsana Investments Private Ltd. in Singapore. “They will not change very soon.”
The global supply of natural rubber has taken a hit, Bloomberg reports, taking car manufacturers from a rough place to a potentially rougher one. Rubber’s current scarcity issue does not have a single underlying cause; Bloomberg points to multiple contributing factors, including issues with shipping lines, countries stockpiling supply and diseases affecting the plants that supply the world with its rubber. According to Bloomberg’s report, American automakers are not feeling the squeeze, but they are keeping a close eye on it. Bloomberg’s own data shows that rubber prices have continued to climb over the last year, reaching a four-year high in February.
Apr 2021
General Motors to Restart Spring Hill
General Motors will restart production at its Spring Hill Assembly plant in Tennessee one week ahead of schedule. The automaker halted production at the Spring Hill facility on Monday due to a semiconductor shortage with the intention of idling the plant for up to two weeks. Spring Hill will now come back online next Monday, however – seven days earlier than previously thought. The Spring Hill plant produces the Cadillac XT5 and XT6 and GMC Acadia crossovers.
Apr 2021
GM to Restart Wentzville, MO Plant While Limiting Others
General Motors will restart production next week at its midsize-pickup plant in Wentzville, Mo., after a two-week hiatus due to the global microchip shortage. However, the automaker plans to limit production at six other North America plants this month.
• Spring Hill Assembly will take downtime beginning the week of April 12th for two weeks (April 12th and April 19th).
• Production of Chevrolet Blazer at Ramos Assembly (Mexico) will be down for one week (April 19th).
• Lansing Delta Township will be down for the week of April 19th.
• Lansing Grand River Assembly will extend its downtime through the week of April 26th. (LGR has been on downtime since Monday, March 15th.)
• Both CAMI Assembly (Canada) and Fairfax Assembly will extend their downtime through the week of May 10th. Both CAMI and Fairfax have been down since the week of Feb. 8th.
“We continue to work closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers’ semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impact on GM. Our intent is to make up as much production lost at these plants as possible,” GM said in a statement Thursday.
Ford to Skip Traditional Summer Shutdown
Ford Motor Co. is forgoing the traditional two-week summer shutdown at most of its U.S. plants due to the continued semiconductor shortage, and staff will as a substitute have to schedule their trip time by their particular person locals, the automaker stated Thursday. Additionally, Ford introduced new downtime for plants in Illinois, Michigan and Missouri amid the disaster.
Apr 2021
U.S. Auto Industry Calls on Government for Help and Intel Invests on New Factories
The Alliance for Auto Innovation Group urged the government to help as it warned the global semiconductor shortage could result in 1.28 million fewer vehicles built this year and disrupt production for another six months. They state that the U.S. Commerce Department should dedicate a portion of funding in a proposed bill to expand U.S. semiconductor production to auto sector needs. The group said the U.S. government could specify “a particular percentage – that is reasonably based on the projected needs of the auto industry – be allocated for facilities that will support the production of auto grade chips in some manner.”
Intel Corp. CEO Pat Gelsinger will virtually attend a meeting being put together by President Joe Biden’s administration for April 12th to discuss the semiconductor supply chain issues disrupting U.S. automotive factories. Gelsinger last month said Intel will spend $20 billion to build two new chip factories in Arizona.
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