What's the latest on the semiconductor shortage?
Numerous supply chain disruptions continue to affect automotive production and delivery times worldwide. At the heart of these, of course, is the shortage of semiconductors, the electronic parts used to power a myriad of vehicle systems.
What's the current situation? According to analysis firm AutoForecast Solutions, which has been measuring the impact of this shortage every week since it began in 2020, the improvement is gradual but still very slow.
It estimates that 2.6 million vehicles will not have been manufactured worldwide by 2023 due to the shortage of semiconductors, better than the 2.8 million previously predicted.
In North America alone, all plants have a backlog of 614,938 vehicles, and the number is expected to be just over one million units by the end of 2023 - well ahead of Europe (around 700,000), China (360,000) and the rest of Asia (435,000).
General Motors remains the hardest-hit manufacturer with its 11 North American plants, especially the one in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which assembles Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. However, its CFO, Paul Jacobson, said last week that the start of the year has been "fantastic" and that signs are encouraging for the next six months.
Railcar shortage
Other shortages hamper vehicle deliveries. As reported by the Detroit Free Press in recent days, some 70,000 assembled vehicles ready for shipment to dealers are currently unable to leave their assembly sites because of a shortage of railcars to transport them.
In the U.S., TTX, the company that manages rail transport for all manufacturers, is said to have underestimated the increase in automobile production resulting from the end of the COVID-19 pandemic. And, of course, it's not the road haulers who can keep up with demand.
The manufacturers have taken steps to urge the US government to intervene to ensure more efficient operation of the commercial rail network across the country.
