• Advertise
  • Contact Us
  • About Us
  • Supplier Directory
  • Login
  • Subscribe
  • Logout
  • My Profile

  • CORONAVIRUS
  • LOGISTICS
    • Air Cargo
    • All Logistics
    • Express/Small Shipments
    • Facility Location Planning
    • Freight Forwarding/Customs Brokerage
    • Global Gateways
    • Global Logistics
    • Last Mile Delivery
    • Logistics Outsourcing
    • LTL/Truckload Services
    • Ocean Transportation
    • Rail & Intermodal
    • Reverse Logistics
    • Service Parts Management
    • Transportation & Distribution
  • TECHNOLOGY
    • All Technology
    • Artificial Intelligence
    • Cloud & On-Demand Systems
    • Data Management (Big Data/IoT/Blockchain)
    • ERP & Enterprise Systems
    • Forecasting & Demand Planning
    • Global Trade Management
    • Inventory Planning/ Optimization
    • Product Lifecycle Management
    • Sales & Operations Planning
    • SC Finance & Revenue Management
    • SC Planning & Optimization
    • Sourcing/Procurement/SRM
    • Supply Chain Visibility
    • Transportation Management
  • GENERAL SCM
    • Business Strategy Alignment
    • Education & Professional Development
    • Global Supply Chain Management
    • Global Trade & Economics
    • HR & Labor Management
    • Quality & Metrics
    • Regulation & Compliance
    • SC Security & Risk Mgmt
    • Sustainability & Corporate Social Responsibility
  • WAREHOUSING
    • All Warehouse Services
    • Conveyors & Sortation
    • Lift Trucks & AGVs
    • Order Fulfillment
    • Packaging
    • RFID, Barcode, Mobility & Voice
    • Robotics
    • Warehouse Management Systems
  • INDUSTRIES
    • Aerospace & Defense
    • Apparel
    • Automotive
    • Chemicals & Energy
    • Consumer Packaged Goods
    • E-Commerce/Omni-Channel
    • Food & Beverage
    • Healthcare
    • High-Tech/Electronics
    • Industrial Manufacturing
    • Pharmaceutical/Biotech
    • Retail
  • REGIONS
    • Asia Pacific
    • Canada
    • China
    • Europe
    • Latin America
    • Middle East/Africa
    • North America
  • THINK TANK
  • PODCASTS
  • VIDEOS
  • WHITEPAPERS
Home » Chip Shortage Hits Global Automakers

Chip Shortage Hits Global Automakers

Chip Shortage Hits Global Automakers
An employee holds a circuit board inside a Continental AG automotive factory. Photo: Bloomberg.
January 11, 2021
Bloomberg

A semiconductor shortage is pinching some of the world’s biggest auto manufacturers, costing Daimler AG, Nissan Motor Co., Honda Motor Co., Ford Motor Co. and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV production for a range of cars.

Mercedes-Benz maker Daimler joined its German peer Volkswagen AG in announcing it’s affected by the industry-wide supply bottleneck, without quantifying the impact. Honda said it will cut domestic output by about 4,000 cars this month at one of its factories in Japan, while Nissan is adjusting production of its Note hatchback model.

In North America, Ford is idling a sport-utility vehicle factory in Kentucky this week, pulling forward previously planned downtime due to the chip shortage. Fiat Chrysler is temporarily closing a Canadian plant and delaying the restart of output at a Mexican Jeep factory until the end of January. The moves are aimed at keeping its other North American plants running, the Italian-American automaker said in a statement.

“We are working closely with our global supply-chain network to manage any manufacturing impact caused by the global microchip shortage,” said Fiat Chrysler, which is set to merge with PSA Group later this week.

Ford also said it is working with its suppliers “to address potential production constraints tied to the global semiconductor shortage.”

Reassigned Chip Capacity

VW, the world’s biggest carmaker, announced last month that it would need to adjust first-quarter manufacturing plans around the globe because of the shortage. The company said chipmakers reassigned some of their production capacity to consumer electronics and other sectors last year and were caught off guard by surprisingly resilient auto demand. The amount of VW car output lost could be in the low six-digit range, according to people familiar with the matter.

The supply-chain issue could keep the auto industry from getting off to a smooth start to the year after the coronavirus undercut output during much of 2020. Struggles to rebuild inventory in some markets led the largest U.S. car dealer and lender to complain the industry has been missing opportunities for more sales.

Honda’s Japanese peer Suzuki Motor Corp. also is altering output, though there’s no plan at this point to idle factories, a spokesperson said. A Subaru Corp. representative said it’s been dealing with some parts-supply delays and may adjust output.

Replacing Models

“The spread of the coronavirus has impacted procurement in semiconductors and related parts,” a Honda spokesperson said in a statement Friday. “We will address this issue by adjusting production and replacing car models.”

Honda will trim output at its Suzuka plant, located in Japan’s eastern Mie prefecture. The plant makes the Fit subcompact, which is also marketed as the Jazz. The chip shortage could potentially impact tens of thousands of vehicles in the March quarter, Nikkei reported, citing an unidentified source.

Nissan’s Oppama plant in Japan will reduce Note production this month, a spokesperson said, without giving details. The Nikkei, Japan’s leading business newspaper said the company would cut output to 5,000 cars a month, from 15,000.

Cars use chips for functions as simple as opening the trunk to more complicated tasks like driver assistance systems. Electric vehicles usually pack more of them than models powered by combustion engines.

Limit Impact

Robert Bosch GmbH and Continental AG, Europe’s largest car-parts makers, acknowledged the chip-shortage issue last month after VW’s announcement and have been trying to limit the impact on customers.

BMW AG said it’s in regular contact with its suppliers about the issue, though it hasn’t yet had to reduce or stop car production.

Peugeot maker PSA Group has not been affected, a spokeswoman said Friday.

General Motors Co. said it faces no current impact on output but is looking for ways to prevent a shortage at its plants.

“We are aware of the increased demand for semiconductor microchips as the auto industry continues its global recovery. Our supply-chain organization is working closely with our supply base to find solutions for our suppliers’ semiconductor requirements and to mitigate impacts on GM production,” it said in a statement.

RELATED CONTENT

RELATED VIDEOS

Coronavirus Global Supply Chain Management Automotive High-Tech/Electronics
  • Related Articles

    A Year of Poor Planning Led to Carmakers’ Massive Chip Shortage

    Second Cyberattack in a Week Hits Global Shipping Industry

    Global Employee Confidence in Business Conditions Hits Five-Year High, Report Says

Bloomberg

As Retail Sales Improved, Inventories Rose Less in February Than Expected

More from this author

Wake up to Coronavirus Updates and the latest Supply Chain News!

Subscribe to our Daily Newsletter

Timely, incisive articles delivered directly to your inbox.

Popular Stories

  • Coronavirus-watch-Armada

    Virus Update: Slow Vaccine Rollouts Delay World’s Economic Recovery; Airbus Plant Hit by Outbreak

    Coronavirus
  • Car Industry

    A Year of Poor Planning Led to Carmakers’ Massive Chip Shortage

    Technology
  • U.S. Vaccine Rollout Hindered by Faulty Coordination, Messaging

    WHO Fumes at Western Drugmakers As China Fills Vaccine Void

    Coronavirus
  • Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Watch: Can Employers Require Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccine? Part 1

    Coronavirus
  • Third-Party Cybersecurity

    What Vaccine Supply Chains Must Do to Protect Against Cyberattack

    Coronavirus

Digital Edition

Scb home issue 27

2020 Supply Chain Innovator of the Year

VIEW THE LATEST ISSUE

Case Studies

  • LSP Saves Customer $1.5 Million a Year With MPO Global Inbound Management

  • Auto Supplier Wows Key Client Using riskmethods Supply Chain Savvy

  • Integrating Shipping and Compliance Saves Conglomerate Millions

  • How a Consumer Goods Giant Upped Its On-Time Delivery Performance

  • LSP Wows Global Client, Quickly Advances to Become End-to-End Provider

Visit Our Sponsors

6 River Systems ArcBest Armada
aThingz BluJay Burris Logistics
DSC Logistics DCSA (Digital Container Shipping Association) DHL Resilience360
Genpact GEP Honeywell Intelligrated
Infor Logility Magnitude Software
MPO Old Dominion Oliver Wight
OpenSky Ports America Purolator
QAD Precision Red Classic Riskmethods
TGW Systems Transportation Insights Watson Land Company
Westfalia Technologies Workjam Yang Ming
  • More From SCB
    • Featured Content
    • Video Library
    • Think Tank Blog
    • SupplyChainBrain Podcast
    • Whitepapers
    • Webinars
  • Digital Offerings
    • Digital Issue
    • Subscribe
    • Manage Your Subscription
    • Newsletters
  • Resources
    • Events Calendar
    • SCB's Great Supply Chain Partners
    • Supplier Directory
    • Case Study Showcase
    • Supply Chain Innovation Awards
    • 100 Great Partners Form
  • SCB Corporate
    • Advertise on SCB.COM
    • About Us
    • Privacy Policy
    • Contact Us
    • Data Sharing Opt-Out

All content copyright © 2016 - 2018 Keller International Publishing Corp All rights reserved. No reproduction, transmission or display is permitted without the written permissions of Keller International Publishing Corp

Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing