As the hammer comes down on the global chip shortage, the Detroit 3 has taken the biggest hit with automakers tweaking production to manage the crisis, finds data from AutoForecast Solutions.
It’s very difficult to predict which shortage will affect which vehicle line for which OEM.
Ford Motor Co. took 324,616 vehicles out of North American production schedules to address the escalating crisis, AutoForecast Solutions reported. General Motors suffered the second greatest impact, taking 277,966 vehicles out of production, while Stellantis came in third with 252,193 vehicles removed from production.
Ford’s popular F-Series tops AutoForecast Solutions’ list of vehicle models that have lost 10,000 units or more of North American production, coming in at 109,710 fewer units. Stellantis’ Jeep Cherokee came in second at 98,584 lost units and General Motors Equinox came in third, losing 81,833 units.
Experts predict the shortage will cost the industry $110 billion. Ford vehicles represent half of the most affected vehicle models in America.
“It’s very difficult to predict which shortage will affect which vehicle line for which OEM,” stated Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s president of the Americas and international markets group last week. “All we can do … is serve our customers and optimize our profitability based on that chain.”
Automakers have begun shuttering production because of the chip shortage. Ford plans additional downtime for F-150 production at its Dearborn truck Plant in Michigan and the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, over the weeks of May 31 and June 7.
Stellantis, which also saw the shortage impact Jeep Compass compact crossovers and Chrysler Voyager minivans, announced downtime at its Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois through May 31. Production at its Windsor Assembly plant in Ontario is down this week. Both assembly plants aim to operate partial shifts the week of May 31. Assembly at the automaker’s Toluca Assembly Plant in Mexico also has planned downtime over the next two weeks.
GM shut down assembly of its lower-profit vehicles to keep higher-profit and higher-demand vehicles in supply. The company prioritizes available semiconductor chips to build and ship its most popular and in-demand products, including full-size pickups and SUVs.
“We’re collaborating across the global supply chain and working tirelessly to route parts to appropriate plants to maximize plant efficiency,” GM CFO Paul Jacobson told investors earlier this month.
Industry analysts predict the shortage won’t last, with some expecting it to end within six months. In an April interview with BBC, Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins predicted the shortage would right itself within six months once providers built out capacity.
Gartner is less optimistic, predicting the shortage will persist into 2022. The research firm reported the shortage impacts all chip types and that chip prices are rising as a result.
Even if the chip shortage rights itself quickly, it is just one part of a greater problem. A shortage of raw materials and other critical parts is also adding to automakers’ production woes.
