Mar 2023
Microchip Shortage: More North America Cuts
North American assembly plants took another blow from the global microchip shortage last week, with 25,600 vehicles axed from production schedules, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions. The cuts in North America came as the rest of the world got a reprieve. AutoForecast Solutions projects that no further vehicles are being eliminated from plans in any other region.
North American factories have so far lost fewer vehicles because of semiconductor shortages than Europe and Asia, but the region is still expected to cut the most vehicles by year’s end. AutoForecast Solutions projects that U.S., Canadian and Mexican manufacturers will end up cutting about 936,400 vehicles by the end of the year — roughly a third of the projected global total.
That level would be significantly lower than the chip-related production losses of 2022 and 2021, when a total of 4.85 million North American vehicles were lost, according to AutoForecast Solutions.
Projections for loss by region are as follows:
- North America YTD – 134,600 (2023 Projected – 936,400)
- Europe YTD – 137,600 (2023 Projected – 828,500)
- Rest of Asia YTD – 191,600 (2023 Projected – 709,600)
- South America YTD – 20,200 (2023 Projected – 134,900)
- China YTD – 70,600 (2023 Projected – 188,300)
- Middle East/Africa YTD – 3,200 (2023 Projected – 19,800)
- Total YTD – 557,800 (2023 Projected – 2,817,500)
