Ford will idle some assembly lines for one week instead of two, while Chrysler will keep some open all summer to meet demand.
Some things are guaranteed in summer: swimming, sunburns and, in Detroit and around the Midwest, automaker plant shutdowns.
Beyond giving workers a summertime break, the shutdowns typically allow time for plant repairs, maintenance and retooling to better align with consumer demand. During the recession, the idling of assembly lines stretched longer than some workers would have liked.
But now that the auto industry has come roaring back withrecord-breaking sales and profits, some Ford and Chryslerassembly line personnel will have to postpone their traditional two-week forced vacations.
Ford, for example, announced that it would trim its shutdown to just one week for most U.S. plants, as well as its engine assembly facility in Chihuahua, Mexico. Ford said in a statement that the reduced shorter idle period would allow the automaker to boost annual North American production by 40,000 units. This is on top of the 200,000 extra cars that Ford already was planning to produce in 2013, versus last year.
The decision to keep the assembly lines open longer is because of increased demand for some of Ford’s best-selling vehicles, including the Explorer, Fusion and F-Series pickup, the company said. This is the second year in a row Ford has kept normally dormant assembly lines open during the summer to meet strong demand.
Some Chrysler assembly lines won’t get a break at all. According to Automotive News, Chrysler will keep three assembly plants running all summer to build the Jeep Grand Cherokee, Dodge Durango and SRT Viper. An additional plant ramping up to produce the 2014 Jeep Cherokee will also remain open. Chrysler will shut down four of its assembly plants for a single week this summer in the United States and Mexico, while other plants, including two in Canada, are scheduled for a two-week break.
As for General Motors, the automaker will be doing “things a bit differently" than in the past, GM spokesman Bill Grotz told Automotive News. Typically, most GM plants shut down during the first weeks of July for model-year makeovers and maintenance. "Today, plant downtime is driven more by specific vehicles' life cycles and in market demand," Grotz said.
autos.msn.com
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