GM to restart two plants down for chip crisis
Kalea HallDetroit — General Motors Co. confirmed Thursday production restart dates for two of its U.S. plants after they were down for weeks from the global semiconductor shortage.
The Detroit automaker plans to reopen its midsize truck plant in Wentzville, Missouri, the week of Sept. 27. Wentzville makes the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickups and the Chevrolet Express and GMC Savana full-size vans. It has been down since Sept. 6.
GM's Lansing Delta Township Assembly will resume production on Oct. 4 after being down since July 19. The plant is home to the Chevrolet Traverse and the Buick Enclave.
"With Wentzville resuming operations, we expect that all of GM’s full-size SUV, full-size truck and mid-size truck plants in North American will be running regular production the week of Sept. 27," GM spokesman David Barnas said in a statement. "Although the situation remains complex and very fluid, we remain confident in our team’s ability to continue finding creative solutions to minimize the impact on our highest-demand and capacity constrained vehicles.”
The news is a bright spot in the chip story as other automakers continue to halt production at various plants. Stellantis NV, maker of Jeeps and Ram trucks, said Wednesday production of heavy-duty Ram pickup trucks, Jeep Grand Cherokee and Dodge vehicles will idle next week due to the shortage.
The global semiconductor shortage is expected to now cost $210 billion in lost revenues this year, according to new estimates from consulting firm AlixPartners LLP. Additionally, the firm expects the industry to lose production of 7.7 million vehicles this year.
khall@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @bykaleahall