General Motors Corp. is returning three pick-up truck assembly plants to idle next week due to a shortage of semi-conductor chips, which are needed to complete the vehicles. The decision comes just a week after resuming production at Flint, Mich., Fort Wayne, Ind., and Silao, Mexico, following a one-week outage at those locations in late July.
“The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid,” according to GM’s statement. “The recent scheduling adjustments have been driven by temporary parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets experiencing COVID-19-related restrictions.”
The Lansing Delta Township (Mich.) Assembly Plant, which assembles Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse SUVs has been idle since July 19 and will remain idle next week.
The Flint Assembly Plant builds Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD pick-up trucks, and the Fort Wayne Assembly plant produces the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 pick-ups.
GM’s Silao Assembly plant in Mexico builds Chevy Silverado 1500s, GMC Sierra 1500s, and Cheyenne pick-ups for the Mexican market.
GM also added another week to the ongoing idlings at the San Luis Potosi, Mexico (Chevy Equinox and Onix and GMC Terrain), and Ingersoll, Ontario (Chevrolet Equinox), now aiming to resume production there on August 30. Those plants have been inactive since July 19.
The chip shortage has been afflicting manufacturers across multiple industrial sectors since late winter. It is a global consequence of rolling production cuts that began during the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020, and particularly due to continued capacity closings in Taiwan, a significant source of semiconductor chips.
