Ford, GM cut September North American production amid chip shortage

Ford and GM are again cutting North American automotive production in September amid the global shortage of semiconductor chips, spokespeople for both companies said Sept. 2.

During the week of Sept. 6, Ford will operate on one shift at its Dearborn, Michigan, truck plant and F-150 production will be down at its Kansas City assembly plant, Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker said in a statement sent to S&P Global Platts.

The company's Kentucky truck plant will operate on two crews in the weeks of Sept. 6 and Sept. 13, according to Felker.

"The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford's North American plants – along with automakers and other industries around the world," Felker said, adding that Ford has teams working on how to maximize production.

GM's Fort Wayne, Indiana, assembly plant and Silao assembly plant in Mexico will take downtime the week of Sept. 6 due to the semiconductor shortage, GM spokesperson Daniel Flores said. The company currently expects regular production at these facilities to resume the week of Sept. 13 and will be using the downtime to complete unfinished vehicles at Fort Wayne and Silao for shipment to dealers.

The company's Wentzville assembly plant in Missouri will halt production the weeks of Sept. 6 and Sept. 13 with both midsize truck and full-size van lines down for both weeks, Flores said in a statement.

Additionally, GM's CAMI assembly plant in Canada and San Luis Potosi assembly plant in Mexico will take two additional weeks of downtime through the week of Sept. 27, according to the company.

Production of the company's Chevy Equinox, which is built at both facilities, has been down since Aug. 16.

GM will also add an additional two weeks of downtime at its Lansing Delta Township assembly plant in Michigan and its Spring Hill assembly plant in Tennessee, with the company expecting production to resume the week of Sept. 20.

The company's Ramos assembly plant in Mexico will take two additional weeks of downtime for Blazer production through the week of September 13 and Equinox production will be down through the week of Sept. 27.

"These most recent scheduling adjustments are being driven by the continued parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets experiencing COVID 19-related restrictions," Flores said." ...Although the situation remains complex and very fluid, we remain confident in our team's ability to continue finding creative solutions to minimize the impact on our highest-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles."

Semiconductors have been in short supply globally for several months on a demand surge following factory closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Speaking at an industry event Aug. 24, Abey Abraham, managing director of automotive and materials at Ducker Research and Consulting, said the semiconductor shortage will likely impact automotive production through 2023, with this year's production forecast likely to be reduced further despite pent-up demand.