- Jan 7, 2002
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The workers are sent home -- where they receive nearly full pay. The assembly line grinds to a halt. And the auto plant goes dark, often for weeks at a time.
It's a new sign of the times in the U.S. auto industry, where excess vehicles and sliding market share have left the Big Three with the capability to build far more vehicles than they can sell.
So far this year, North American factories operated by Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have logged 210 weeks of downtime. plants were idle 125 weeks all of last year.
The numbers tell a story that has an unhappy ending for the U.S. autoworker. Both GM and Ford are preparing to announce plans to close plants and cut thousands of jobs in an effort to bring factory capacity back in line with demand.
"It's been going for a very long time and will continue until overcapacity is removed from the system," said Global Insight analyst Catherine Madden.
The increase downtime has affected everything from Dodge Viper output in Detroit and Chevy SSR production in Lansing to SUV plants in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Delaware, Oklahoma and Ohio.
The situation is actually worse than the numbers suggest. In some cases, automakers will idle one shift at an assembly plant, which doesn't count as a down week.
Dave Mackens, an assembly line worker at DaimlerChrysler's Warren Truck Assembly plant, said his factory has officially been closed four weeks this year, but he and other workers have been idled for nearly 13 weeks.
"This is the most I've ever been off," said Mackens, who has spent a decade on the line for Chrysler.
The factory downtime is the result of several converging issues:
? GM and Ford are losing market share at alarming rates.
? Contracts with the United Auto Workers don't allow Detroit's Big Three to close plants at will.
? And not all plants are flexible enough to build other models if sales fall for a certain car or truck.
Once vehicle inventories rise, plant idling often is the only option. That was the situation early this year, said Mike Jackson, an analyst with CSM Worldwide.
He said Detroit automakers began 2005 with huge inventories. GM had the largest stockpile. Ultimately, the company offered deep discounts such as employee pricing to the masses to clear excess inventory. http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/14/A01-381084.htm
It's a new sign of the times in the U.S. auto industry, where excess vehicles and sliding market share have left the Big Three with the capability to build far more vehicles than they can sell.
So far this year, North American factories operated by Ford Motor Co., General Motors Corp. and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group have logged 210 weeks of downtime. plants were idle 125 weeks all of last year.
The numbers tell a story that has an unhappy ending for the U.S. autoworker. Both GM and Ford are preparing to announce plans to close plants and cut thousands of jobs in an effort to bring factory capacity back in line with demand.
"It's been going for a very long time and will continue until overcapacity is removed from the system," said Global Insight analyst Catherine Madden.
The increase downtime has affected everything from Dodge Viper output in Detroit and Chevy SSR production in Lansing to SUV plants in Michigan, Texas, Wisconsin, Delaware, Oklahoma and Ohio.
The situation is actually worse than the numbers suggest. In some cases, automakers will idle one shift at an assembly plant, which doesn't count as a down week.
Dave Mackens, an assembly line worker at DaimlerChrysler's Warren Truck Assembly plant, said his factory has officially been closed four weeks this year, but he and other workers have been idled for nearly 13 weeks.
"This is the most I've ever been off," said Mackens, who has spent a decade on the line for Chrysler.
The factory downtime is the result of several converging issues:
? GM and Ford are losing market share at alarming rates.
? Contracts with the United Auto Workers don't allow Detroit's Big Three to close plants at will.
? And not all plants are flexible enough to build other models if sales fall for a certain car or truck.
Once vehicle inventories rise, plant idling often is the only option. That was the situation early this year, said Mike Jackson, an analyst with CSM Worldwide.
He said Detroit automakers began 2005 with huge inventories. GM had the largest stockpile. Ultimately, the company offered deep discounts such as employee pricing to the masses to clear excess inventory. http://www.detnews.com/2005/autosinsider/0511/14/A01-381084.htm
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