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Parts shortage continues to plague auto industry

April 2, 2021   ·   0 Comments

A parts shortage will continue to hamper production at Honda’s manufacturing facilities across North America, including the plant in Alliston.

The plant has already experienced temporary shut-downs on some lines.

The productions woes have affected auto plants in Canada, the U.S. as well as Mexico.

The situation has affected several North American automakers. General Motors, Ford, and Toyota have also announced they will cut output at their plants as well.

A Honda spokesperson cited “the impact from COVID-19, congestion at various ports, the microchip shortage and severe winter weather over the past several weeks,” as being the reason production is grinding down.

A statement issued by the company also suggests that people simply aren’t buying enough cars.

“As the unprecedented economic impact of the fast-changing COVID-19 pandemic worsens, Honda continues to evaluate conditions and make temporary adjustments to its production and business operations in North America.”

The statement goes on to say, “In addition to the impact of COVID-19 on the marketplace, stay-at-home orders in many cities and provinces prevent consumers in a number of markets from purchasing new vehicles. As a result, Honda must continue to suspend production in order to align product supply with a lack of market demand. In some way, all of our auto plants in the U.S and Canada will be impacted.”

Honda said it has “suspended production for all its automobile, engine and transmission plants in the U.S and Canada through May 1.”

A parts shortage first started causing problems in the auto industry back in January when automakers couldn’t get needed microchips.

The worldwide pandemic saw an increase in the sales of iPhones and video devices prompting microchip producers to start selling their product to electronics companies and placing auto companies second on the list.

The microchip shortage caused production issues with most major automobile manufacturers.

The Alliston Honda plant employs around 4,200 workers.

The plant produces the Civic and CR-V models of Honda automobiles.

By Brian Lockhart
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

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