Automotive OEMs grow impatient with disruptions to supply chain

A variety of factors are forcing Canadian automotive production plants to reduce capacity.
Plant magazine’s Mario Cywinski reached out to automotive OEMs who produce vehicles in Canada to see how they are coping with the disruptions.
Ford of Canada
“This interruption on the Detroit/Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border that are already two years into parts shortages resulting from the global semiconductor issue, COVID and more,” said Rose Pao, communications manager, Ford of Canada.
“We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the U.S. and Canada. We are running our plants today in Oakville and Windsor at reduced capacity.”

Look in the upcoming February issue of IPP/T magazine for an editorial on how Canada can remedy its supply chain woes.

Honda Canada
“Honda automotive manufacturing operations in the U.S. and Canada are currently open and running production. Honda of Canada Manufacturing did temporarily suspend manufacturing on one production line yesterday evening due to border delays but is back online,” said John Bordignon, brand communications, Honda Canada.
“We continue to monitor the disruption of transportation between Canada and the U.S. and will adjust production scheduling as necessary. Further production delays as a result of these disruptions are certainly possible.”
Stellantis Canada
“All Stellantis North America plants are running as of Thursday morning, but a number of U.S. and Canadian plants cut short second shifts Wednesday night due to parts shortages caused by the closure of the Detroit/Windsor bridge. We continue to work closely with our carriers to get parts into the plants to mitigate further disruption,” said LouAnn Gosselin, head of communications – Canada, Stellantis.

“Due to a number of supply chain, severe weather and COVID related challenges, Toyota continues to face shortages affecting production at our North American plants, including Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada. Our teams are working diligently to minimize the impact on production,” said Michael Bouliane, manager, corporate communications (External Affairs), Toyota Canada Inc.
“While the situation is fluid and changes frequently, we do not anticipate any impact to employment at this time. We expect some disruption between now and this weekend, and we’ll continue to make adjustments to our production plans.”
(Plant)