May 11, 2018—Ford recently made news by suspending production of F-150 pickups due to a parts shortage, and now General Motors, Fiat Chrysler, and BMW are enduring similar headaches. The OEMs are facing production issues after a large fire took a key supplier’s factory out of commission, noted FOX Business.
Meridian Magnesium Products in Eaton Rapids, Mich., has been unable to produce its die-cast parts since a fire on May 2. Ford noted that F-150 and Super Duty assembly lines at three truck plants shut down after running out of Meridian-made parts, prompting a halt in production of pickups. But the factory downtime for other auto manufacturers isn’t as widespread.
GM has suspended production of the GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express full-size vans in Missouri due to a parts shortage, according to a company spokesperson. At FCA, the parts shortage has caused a halt in the assembly of the Chrysler Pacifica minivan, which is made in Windsor, Ontario. Also of note, BMW will make fewer X5 and X6 SUVs at a plant in South Carolina until its supply of auto parts returns to normal, according to the Associated Press.
No layoffs were reported by GM, FCA, or BMW. Ford, conversely, temporarily laid off about 7,600 workers in Michigan and Missouri once production of the F-150 was halted. Analysts said it’s too early to know if the aforementioned production delays will negatively impact sales.
