General Motors has canceled a shift at one Michigan factory and has been rerouting trucks to keep another plant running as truckers continued to restrict travel across the Ambassador Bridge.
Wednesday marked the third day of the protest at the border crossing by truckers who object to pandemic vaccine mandates in Canada. The blockade is shutting down traffic on the international gateway between the U.S. and Canada. Many auto parts make their way to factories over the Ambassador Bridge.
Until Wednesday, GM’s car production had not been interrupted by a shortage of supplies due to the bridge protest, but by late afternoon GM confirmed that the second shift at Lansing Delta Township Assembly plant would be canceled.
A spokesman confirmed the cancellation was due to a parts shortage related to the protests and the traffic blockage.
“We are working closely with our logistics providers to mitigate any potential impacts to our production and operations,” said GM spokesman Dan Flores.
Earlier in the day, workers at Lansing Delta Township Assembly, where GM builds the Buick Enclave and Chevrolet Traverse midsize SUVs, got a notice from the UAW Local 603 shop chairman.
In the notice, obtained by the Free Press, Chairman Jeff Kosloski wrote the protest was getting serious and workers can expect more updates on possible disruptions Thursday.
“The corporation has just directed and initiated a shift cancellation for 2nd shift production tonight 2/9/22 at LDT due to parts constraints at the Canadian Border,” Kosloski wrote. “Seems the protesting Semi Truckers in Canada is getting serious. Continue to stand by for further updates as we go through the day and into tomorrow.”
Second shift starts at 5:30 p.m. and typically runs until 1:30 a.m.
Meanwhile, at Flint Assembly where GM builds its highly profitable and popular heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups, the assembly line rolled on uninterrupted Wednesday.
But that’s because GM’s supply chain management team pulled out all the stops to get supplies over the bridge.
“GM rerouted some supplier trucks around the Ambassador Bridge to get them to the plant, so we’ve been running,” said UAW Local 598 Shop Chairman Eric Welter of Flint Assembly. “They’ve been able to keep us in parts so far.”
But Welter and some workers at the plant worry if the protest continues, GM may have to idle some production at Flint.
“They are closely monitoring it,” Welter said of GM. “But I don’t know what we get through Canada to tell you how much material that is to determine what the plan is. But the message this morning was they were able to reroute trucks.”
Some carmakers and some Canadian suppliers are starting to indicate the border blocking issue could result in substantial impact on production, said Joe McCabe, CEO of AutoForecast Solutions.
“Couple the traditional just-in-time supply of parts with the fact that Canada is home to vehicles not assembled at any other facility in North America … and this could prove out to be reality quickly,” McCabe said.
For example, Stellantis builds its minivans in Windsor and makes Dodge Challengers and Dodge Charger sports cars at its facility in Brampton, Ontario, he said. Likewise, Ford Motor Co. makes Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs at Ford Oakville Assembly in Ontario.
McCabe said it is too early to quantify the impact of the bridge blockage, but, with each passing day of disruption, “the chance of a production impact will grow exponentially. This is on top of any semiconductor shortage issues,” he said, referring to the global shortage of semiconductor chips that has hampered the entire industry.
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Contact Jamie L. LaReau: 313-222-2149 or jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. Read more on General Motors and sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.