Through September, FCA had sold 91,595 Pacificas in the United States, up 6.1 percent over the first nine months of 2017. Photo credit: FCA
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles said it will idle its minivan plant in Windsor, Ont., for a week beginning Oct. 29 in order to “adjust inventories.”
FCA builds its Dodge Grand Caravan and Chrysler Pacifica, including the hybrid versions, at the factory.
Normal production schedules will resume Nov. 5, FCA Canada spokeswoman Lou Ann Gosselin said on Friday. She described normal production as three shifts per day, five days a week. The plant often operates six days a week, but Gosseling wouldn’t say if a sixth day of production is on the horizon after the week of Nov. 5.
“We only disclose our production schedule one week at a time,” Gosselin said.
Through September, FCA had sold 91,595 Pacificas in the United States, up 6.1 percent over the first nine months of 2017. Grand Caravan sales totaled 120,935, an increase of 12 percent over the same period last year.
The Pacifica’s days supply in the United States stood at 71 as of Oct. 1, and the Grand Caravan’s number was 21. The number of days of supply is not disclosed in Canada.
Unifor Local 444 President Dave Cassidy, who represents about 5,000 hourly workers at the plant, told Blackburn News that several supply plants will be affected by the shutdown.
“We have a couple of feeder plants that produce for other companies but the majority of our feeder plants will be negatively affected for sure,” Cassidy told Blackburn.