GM Announces Moves To Restock Dealer Lots

General Motors dealers in the U.S. and Canada with thin inventories due to production interruptions caused by the global semiconductor shortage will soon receive a shot of new stock. GM said Thursday it is stepping up production and deliveries of several key models over the next few months.

In a release, the company laid out the following plan:

• Production of the Chevrolet Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD full-size pickup trucks will increase by 1,000 vehicles a month starting in mid-July at the Flint Assembly Plant in Michigan. The production increase will be achieved by what the company termed “production line efficiencies.”
• A 30,000-unit increase of shipments of Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon mid-size pickups built at the Wentzville Assembly in Missouri began in mid-May and will continue through the week of July 5. The trucks are being released as the company completes dynamic testing. They were held at the plant due to “semiconductor supply interruptions,” the company said.
• Smaller volumes of other vehicles held at other plants because of the semiconductor shortage will be released this month and next as they dynamic testing is completed.
• Summer vacation downtime is canceled at U.S. assembly plants that build the “most capacity-constrained products.”

These new moves come in addition to the previously announced plan to return full-size pickup production to Oshawa Assembly in Canada during the fourth quarter of this year. As production there ramps up, the company said it expects it will create “an impact in 2022.”

In the nearer term, GM said it expects its results for the first half of 2021 will be “significantly better” than previously given guidance due to “ongoing efforts to prioritize semiconductor usage, its success engineering solutions that maximize the utilization of chips as well as the pull-ahead of some projected semiconductor deliveries into the second quarter.” Those results will be released on Aug.4 when GM reports second quarter financial performance.

“The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid, but the speed, agility and commitment of our team, including our dealers, has helped us find creative ways to satisfy customers,” said Phil Kienle, GM vice president, North America Manufacturing and Labor Relations in a statement. “Customer demand continues to be very strong, and GM’s engineering, supply chain and manufacturing teams have done a remarkable job maximizing production of high-demand and capacity-constrained vehicles.”

GM advised production at several, unspecified plants in North America, Asia and South America will continue to be impacted by the semiconductor shortage through July, but plans to take actions similar to those announced Thursday “in markets around the world” as the shortage begins to eventually abate. In the long term the company said it plans to work with suppliers and “policy leaders” to come up with strategies to offset semiconductor issues.

This story will be updated following the participation by GM Chairman and CEO Mary Barra and Chief Financial Officer Paul Jacobson in a virtual fireside chat with Credit Suisse this afternoon.