Estimated NorthAm auto losses rise

Forecasts for North American automotive production cuts continued to grow as semiconductor chip shortages continued to hit the industry

AutoForecast Solutions increased the number of automotive builds expected to be lost in 2022 by 71,000 vehicles to 348,000 from the prior week.

Nearly 400,000 vehicles are at risk of not being built, with just over 200,000 listed as recoverable. An additional 200,000 vehicles could be impacted.

The automotive industry is one of the single largest consumers of steel products in North America. The average North American vehicle consumes 1,980lbs of steel, of which approximately 1,480lbs are flat-rolled products, and 486lbs of aluminum, according to data from the American Iron and Steel Institute's (AISI) Automotive Program.

Using those estimates approximately 258,000 short tons of flat-rolled steel product consumption has been lost this year from the curtailed production.

By Rye Druzin