Trucks come off the assembly line at GM’s Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup truck plant in Fort Wayne, Indiana, July 25, 2018.
John Gress | Reuters
DETROIT — General Motors will halt pickup truck production at a factory in Indiana for two weeks next month due to an ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips that has wreaked havoc on the global automotive industry for more than a year.
The supply of chips, which are critical parts for new vehicles, was expected to gradually improve for automakers throughout this year, but other problems in the supply chain, including Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, have clouded such expectations.
GM President Mark Reuss recently told CNBC that chip supplies were “getting a little better” but the crisis was not over. “We’re not through this,” he said last week. “We’re doing the best we can.”
GM’s Fort Wayne, Indiana, plant will be down the weeks of April 4 and April 11, the company announced Friday. The facility produces highly profitable Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks.
Automakers have been prioritizing chips whenever possible for their most high-demand and profitable vehicles. For the Detroit automakers, those are pickup trucks and large SUVs.
“Overall, we have seen better consistency in semiconductor supply through the first quarter compared to last year as a whole. This has translated into improvement in our production and deliveries during the first three months of the year,” GM said in a statement Friday. “However, there is still uncertainty and unpredictability in the semiconductor supply base, and we are actively working with our suppliers to mitigate potential issues moving forward.”
GM also produces Silverado and Sierra pickups at plants in Mexico and Canada. It produces larger, heavy-duty versions in Flint, Michigan.