General Motors said it will halt production at its full-size pickup plant in Indiana over the next two weeks because of the global microchip shortage.
Fort Wayne Assembly, which builds the light-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, will take downtime from April 4 to April 15, GM spokesman Dan Flores said Friday.
“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,” Flores said. “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’s other light-duty pickup plant in Silao, Mexico, will continue to build the Silverados and Sierras while Fort Wayne is idled.
The production halt at Fort Wayne is GM’s first chip-related downtime at a full-size pickup plant since August. All of GM’s assembly plants in North America have been running regular production since Nov. 1. Fairfax Assembly in Kansas and Ramos Arizpe Assembly in Mexico added second shifts in January.
Nearly 295,000 vehicles have been cut from North America production plans this year because of chip shortages, AutoForecast Solutions estimates. The firm projects that 457,800 vehicles will be eliminated from North America production schedules this year.