Stellantis shipping yard flooded in Detroit, Jeep and Ford production disrupted

A flooded shipping yard near the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit is filled with what appear to be new Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicles.  

Photos posted by Jeep owners on social media spotlighted dozens of submerged vehicles with water over their windshields. While the vehicles look like Jeep Grand Cherokees, the company was unable to confirm on Saturday night by deadline the actual makes and models of the vehicles as they were under water.

“The pictures are of a shipping yard near the JNAP plant, which was also impacted by the severe weather,” Stellantis told the Free Press on Saturday.

The flooded site is a central shipping yard where vehicles are held in the lot as they await shipping to dealers around the country, Stellantis said.

Vehicles of all kinds are held in the area, such as the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Jeep Grand Cherokee L, Dodge Durango, minivans, Chargers, Challengers and trucks, Stellantis said. This is a waiting point prior to being picked up to go on trains.

The Auburn Hills automaker declined to specify how many vehicles were affected, what would happen with those vehicles or whether more than one storage site was impacted.

“An assessment will be conducted on the condition of vehicles in the yard. We have no additional information to share at this time,” Stellantis told the Free Press.

Jefferson North Assembly Plant, known as JNAP, sits at 2101 Conner Ave., nearly 6 miles from the Renaissance Center and 2 miles from Grosse Pointe Park. 

 The plant builds both the Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge Durango, Stellantis confirmed. The much-praised Jeep Grand Cherokee L is built nearby at the Mack Assembly Plant, 4000 St. Jean Ave.

Unlike Ford Motor Co. and General Motors, Stellantis has said it is not building and holding these vehicles due to the semiconductor chip shortage.

More:Stellantis to cut production at Jefferson North plant in Detroit amid chip shortage

More:See inside Detroit’s new Jeep assembly plant

Stellantis UAW members in Detroit lost work hours because of the weather disaster.

“As a result of the severe storms experienced in Detroit on June 25, the Jefferson North Assembly Plant experienced significant flooding,” Stellantis said in a prepared statement. “First shift did not run as employees were not able to get to the plant due to local road closures. Water in the plant has been removed and second shift is expected to begin at 4:30 p.m.”

Ford production impacted

The Dearborn Truck Plant, which builds the bestselling Ford F-150, was down on Saturday as a result of extreme flooding in the area, Kelli Felker, Ford global manufacturing and labor communications manager, told the Free Press. “They are still shipping but employees had trouble getting in due to the flooded area.”

GM OK

Meanwhile, GM has no reported impacts from the flooding, spokesman David Barnas told the Free Press late Saturday. However, he did say colleagues living in Detroit and Grosse Pointe were busy dealing with flood-damaged basements.