March 11, 2020—Reports are recommending consumers go in for car repairs because auto parts could become scarce due to the ongoing coronavirus, according to a report by the Texarkana Gazette.
China, where the outbreak has been intense, is only behind Mexico and Canada in the amount of auto parts imported to the U.S.
The Center for Automotive Research notes that most auto parts are still produced domestically — but that appears to be more a matter of timing and total severity, according to the report. U.S. parts imports from China tripled from 2010 to 2018, making production here more vulnerable to problems in China than ever before.
However, automakers commonly have a one- or two-month inventory of parts that come from as far away as China, so car production here hasn't been affected just yet.