Mar 2023
Microchip Shortage: Lowest in Months
Automakers cut remarkably fewer vehicles from their production schedules worldwide last week because of the microchip shortage — just 2,400 vehicles, one of the lowest weekly totals in months, according to the latest estimate by AutoForecast Solutions.
All of the new reductions occurred at European factories, with plants around the rest of the globe getting a reprieve from the supply problems that have ravaged factory and supply chain planning since early 2021.
Automakers are still coping with other supply chain problems, but they are less frequently blaming them on the semiconductor shortage, said Sam Fiorani, vice president of global vehicle forecasting at AutoForecast Solutions.
“More than two years into this problem, it reflects poorly on a manufacturer or supplier who has not secured sourcing of chips,” Fiorani wrote in an email.
About 714,600 vehicles have been cut from global production plans this year due to chip shortages, according to the company. It expects that figure to rise to about 2.78 million vehicles by the end of the year.
Projections for loss by region are as follows:
- North America YTD – 478,400 (2023 Projected – 1,088,600)
- Europe YTD – 134,000 (2023 Projected – 824,900)
- Rest of Asia YTD – 21,500 (2023 Projected – 539,900)
- South America YTD – 7,200 (2023 Projected – 121,900)
- China YTD – 70,400 (2023 Projected – 188,100)
- Middle East/Africa YTD – 3,200 (2023 Projected – 19,800)
- Total YTD – 714,600 (2023 Projected – 2,783,200)
