Winter storm forces Detroit Three to cancel some auto production

Detroit — A winter storm that hit from the Midwest down to Mexico has cut production at several auto plants across North America. 

Ford Motor Co. canceled production all day at four plants Tuesday, and three others ran at reduced levels. General Motors Co. canceled first-shift production at four plants, and second-shift at two of those plants. The day shift at Stellantis NV's Toledo Assembly Plant, home to the Jeep Wrangler and Gladiator pickup up, was canceled due to local travel advisories, spokeswoman Jodi Tinson said in an email. Production resumed for the second shift Tuesday at Toledo Assembly. 

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The storm's impact comes as the auto industry already is being rattled by a global semiconductor supply constraint that has led GM, Ford, Stellantis and others to cancel or reduce production at some plants. 

The weather caused Ford to cancel production at Ohio Assembly truck and van plant in Avon Lake, Ohio, and the Hermosillo Assembly Plant in Mexico where the Ford Fusion and Lincoln products are built, Ford spokeswoman Kelli Felker said. 

Ford canceled production until Feb. 22 at the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri where the profit-rich F-150 and Transit are built to reduce natural gas consumption during the winter storm. 

Ford is planning to run second shifts at its Chicago Assembly Plant where the Ford Explorer, Police Interceptor Utility and Lincoln Aviator are built, Dearborn Truck Plant where the F-150 and Raptor are built, and the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario where the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus are built.

GM canceled first-shift production at its Cadillac XT5, XT6 and GMC Acadia plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, its Fort Wayne, Indiana, light-duty truck plant, the Bowling Green, Kentucky, plant where the Chevrolet Corvette is built, and its large SUV plant in Arlington, Texas, spokesman Dan Flores said. 

Second shift production was also canceled at Fort Wayne and Arlington. Third shift production hadn't been decided yet as of midafternoon Tuesday. 

Meanwhile, GM, Ford and Stellantis have had to cut production at various plants because of a semiconductor supply shortage. 

GM has halted production at the Fairfax, Kansas, plant where the Cadillac XT4 and the Chevrolet Malibu are built, the CAMI plant in Ontario where the Chevrolet Equinox is built, and the San Luis Potosi plant in Mexico where the Equinox, the Chevrolet Trax and the GMC Terrain SUVs are built.

Ford canceled a Feb. 13 overtime shift at its Kentucky Truck Plant in Louisville — which builds Ford F-250 through F-550 Super Duty Trucks, the Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator because of the shortage. 

Last week, Kansas City and Dearborn Truck plants, which both produce F-150s, operated on reduced shifts due to the shortage. Stellantis' Windsor Assembly Plant in Ontario where the Chrysler Pacifica is built also has been temporarily idled. 

Staff writer Breana Noble contributed 

khall@detroitnews.com

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