General Motors of the United States will stop production of most full-size pick-up trucks in the United States and Mexico next week because of a continuing shortage of semiconductor chips, and another carmaker, Mercedes-Benz, has also cut its sales forecast for this year.
GM said Wednesday that it will cut production at factories that make Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in Michigan, Indiana and Mexico.
Prior to media reports, US Commerce Secretary Genna Raimundo (Gina Raimondo) has been making efforts to facilitate a series of meetings between semiconductor manufacturers and their suppliers and customers (including carmakers), and the meetings have produced some results.
Raimundo said she began to see some signs of improvement in chip supply, with some carmakers telling her that "they are starting to get more of what they need" and the situation has taken a turn for the better. But GM's latest shutdown announcement on Wednesday shows that the global supply of chips is still very unstable.
GM said in an emailed statement, "the global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very unstable, but GM's global procurement and supply chain, engineering and manufacturing teams will continue to look for creative solutions. And work with the (chip) supply base to minimize the impact on our vehicles with the highest demand and limited capacity. This includes providing customers with full-size trucks and SUV. "
GM's (Fort Wayne Assembly), assembly plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, and (Silao) assembly plant in Sirau, Mexico, will suspend production next week. The company's assembly plant in Flint, Michigan, which makes heavy trucks, will also be reduced from three shifts to one shift.
GM said the plants are not expected to resume full production until the week of Aug. 2.
Through an active supply chain strategy, GM avoided stopping production of large pick-up trucks due to parts shortages this year and completed some chip-free parts ahead of schedule so that it could quickly keep up with pickup supplies when chip supply recovers.
In addition, GM has cut some features that require chips, such as wireless phone chargers, to reduce its dependence on chips.
Mercedes-Benz cut its sales forecast for this year due to chip shortage
Daimler also cut its Mercedes-Benz sales forecast for this year on Wednesday as the global chip shortage did not ease. The company now expects Mercedes-Benz shipments to be the same as the previous year, rather than the sharp growth previously expected.
"the entire industry has been forced to extend delivery times, which, unfortunately, has also affected our customers," said Daimler CEO Conlinson (Ola Kallenius). We are doing everything we can to minimize the impact. "
The chip shortage in 2021 is expected to cost the global auto industry $110 billion in revenue, according to consulting firm iRuiplatin (AlixPartners). Goldman Sachs had previously reported that the peak impact of the chip shortage occurred in the second quarter, and car production "should rebound in July".
