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GM Moves Unfinished Trucks from Ad-Hoc Parking Lots Back to Plants, Chip Crisis Not Over

While the chip shortage clearly isn’t over, General Motors is already seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. The company has recently started transferring some unfinished trucks from the ad-hoc parking lots it created on empty fields back to manufacturing plants to install the necessary systems.
GM plants currently running at full speed 6 photos
Photo: GM
GM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plantGM's Flint assembly plant
In other words, these trucks are now on their way to customers, obviously, after receiving the equipment they were ordered with.

General Motors is one of the companies that tried to reduce the disruptions caused by the global chip shortage by maintaining the production at some plants. However, the vehicles produced here eventually ended up in parking spaces where they were just waiting for chips to power critical systems.

These chips have now arrived, and General Motors is working around the clock on installing them on trucks before shipping the vehicles to customers.

According to media reports, the parking lot in Genesee County near Mt. Morris is now almost empty, as the American carmaker has started sending the trucks back to the plants for the final assembly.

Starting November 1, General Motors has resumed operations at all its North American facilities, with some factories even adding overtime shifts to maintain the production at full speed.

But on the other hand, this doesn’t necessarily mean the chip shortage is over.

Industry analysts predicted a semiconductor crisis ease-off in late 2021, and as it turns out, this is indeed happening, with more carmakers returning to normal production levels at the majority of their factories.

However, most experts believe another chip shortage wave would happen in the first months of 2022 when carmakers might have no other option than to turn to painful decisions like temporary halts of the production at some facilities. The chip shortage is unlikely to be over by 2023, they say, though more signs of a full recovery should appear in approximately 12 months.
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About the author: Bogdan Popa
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Bogdan keeps an eye on how technology is taking over the car world. His long-term goals are buying an 18-wheeler because he needs more space for his kid’s toys, and convincing Google and Apple that Android Auto and CarPlay deserve at least as much attention as their phones.
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