CAMARO PRODUCTION SHUT DOWN YET AGAIN

General Motors’ Lansing Grand River Assembly plant finally opened back up on May 3, after being offline for a staggering 49 days. The plant, which is home to the Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac CT4 and CT5, was put on extended shutdown as a result of the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage taking place around the globe. It doesn’t appear that this reopening has gone well for GM, however. According to a report from Lansing’s WLNS, General Motors is moving to once again close down the Lansing Grand River Assembly plant as their supply of semiconductor chips remains untenable during the shortage.

Chevrolet Camaro Can’t Catch A Break

Sources close to the matter told the publication that the plant will halt production starting today, just one week after reopening for the first time in nearly two months. The plant will remain offline until June 28, though it is always possible that the shutdown gets extended again. For those keeping score at home, that marks a second 49 day shutdown period at Lansing Grand River Assembly. Combined the two shutdowns will account for more downtime than the automaker experienced during the early days of the coronavirus pandemic. As one might expect, this will have serious effects on the number of Chevrolet Camaro, Cadillac CT4 and CT5 models available for purchase in the coming months. Of course GM isn’t alone in this issue, as the semiconductor chip shortage continues to impact auto production across the United States and the globe.

Semiconductor Shortage Getting Serious

In fact, the inventory of light-vehicles in the United States is at its lowest point in more than a decade. At the end of March, just 2.4 million vehicles were available in the States, according to LMC Automotive. Considering these production delays and shutdowns continued all the way through April, there is a good chance that that number will continue to dwindle as we move into the summer months. We do know that automakers are diverting their limited supply of semiconductor chips to build their most profitable vehicles in an effort to stem the losses. This is likely why GM is closing LGR Assembly, as the Chevrolet Camaro and the Cadillac models aren’t exactly hot sellers. The brand’s lineup of full-size SUVs and trucks on the other hand, sell rather well.

General Motors is reportedly also moving to halt production at its Wayne, Flat Rock, Fairfax, and Oshawa production facilities. That is a huge portion of the automaker’s production network here in North America, and is emblematic of how difficult these times are for automakers. There is a reason that Mark Reuss called this the worst supply chain crisis he’s seen in his career, folks. As automakers await for assistance from the federal government in securing automotive-grade silicon, the semiconductor chip shortage is going to continue to make itself felt in the industry.