NorthAm lost vehicle estimate grows: AutoForecast

The number of new vehicle production in North America lost due to a lack of semiconductors ticked up in the last week.

Estimates of lost vehicle production rose this week by 15pc to 865,000 vehicles, 110,000 more vehicles than the prior week, according to data from AutoForecast Solutions.

The number of vehicles deemed "at-risk" also increased, rising by a third to 293,000 vehicles.

The increased lost production comes as some North American automakers have been able to bring some idled production back on line. Last week Ford Motor restarted production of its top-selling F-150 full-size pickup truck at its plants in Michigan and Missouri, while also restarting full-size SUV production in Illinois and sedan production in Flat Rock, Michigan.

At the end of May, General Motors (GM) said it would bring some North American plants back on line. The company announced at the beginning of June that it will increase output of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra full-size pickup trucks by 1,000 trucks/month beginning in mid-July. Shipments of the Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize pickup trucks will increase by 30,000 units from mid-May through 5 July as vehicles that had been partially built are fully fitted with semiconductors.

But other automakers have announced further curtailments of production in recent weeks, with Hyundai and Kia announcing production cuts on 17 June, while Stellantis has extended closures of plants in Illinois, Ontario, and Toluca, Mexico. Nissan has also extended production cuts through all of July.

By Rye Druzin