We have all heard the news. The automotive industry is seeing many delays because of the lack of certain things. Things like the chemicals to make seats and dashboards, interior products, people that want to work and even microchips. We even heard that the new Wrangler 392 is being sent out with a single key because of the microchips shortage.
Seeing a story in the Detroit News though gives us a sign of hope.
Stellantis NV is extending downtime at some of its plants, but its newest in Detroit is churning out the three-row Jeep Grand Cherokee L.
Mack Assembly Plant is the first new auto assembly plant in the city in 30 years. The brightly lit, 3 million-square-foot factory began production in March and is operating on three shifts five days a week with roughly 4,900 people, including 2,100 newly hired Detroiters.
But Stellantis NV is still producing. And the new facility is nothing short of amazing!
According to CNBC, the severity of the global chip shortage has gone up a notch over the last few weeks and it’s now looking as though millions of people will be impacted.
As technology has advanced, semiconductor chips have spread from computers and cars to toothbrushes and tumble dryers — they now lurk beneath the hood of a surprising number of products.
Alan Priestley, an analyst at Gartner, told CNBC that the average person on the street is bound to be impacted by the chip shortage in one form or another.
“What it will mean is they can’t get something, or prices are slightly higher,” Priestley said during an interview on Thursday.
The automotive sector, which relies on chips for everything from the computer management of engines to driver assistance systems, is still the hardest hit. Companies like Ford, Volkswagen and Jaguar Land Rover have shut down factories, laid off workers and slashed vehicle production.
Stellantis, the world’s fourth biggest car maker, said on Wednesday that the chip shortage had gotten worse in the last quarter. Richard Palmer, the chief financial officer of the firm that was created through the merger of Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot maker PSA, warned the disruption could last into 2022.
Hopefully, like many analysts have predicted, in 18 months or so things will be back to normal…or at least that is what we hope for.
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/07/chip-shortage-is-starting-to-have-major-real-world-consequences.html
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