Production of the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 at the GM Fort Wayne Assembly plant in Indiana will be paused for two weeks from April 4th to April 15th, the automaker said Friday.
GM has been forced to implement this two-week production stoppage due to supply constraints stemming from the global semiconductor chip shortage, company spokesman Dan Flores said. GM’s North American plants have been running on regular production schedules since Nov. 1 after semiconductor shortages interrupted production throughout 2021. While GM has observed an improvement in automotive-grade chip supply recently, it’s still grappling with supply issues for the critical electronic componentry.
Production of the Chevy Silverado 1500 and GMC Sierra 1500 also takes place at the GM Silao Assembly plant in Mexico. The Mexican plant will continue to produce the two nameplates while the Indiana plant remains idled, GM said.
“Overall, we have seen better consistency in semiconductor supply through the first quarter compared to last year as a whole,” GM spokesman Dan Flores said in a statement released Friday. “This has translated into improvement in our production and deliveries during the first three months of the year. However, there is still uncertainty and unpredictability in the semiconductor supply base, and we are actively working with our suppliers to mitigate potential issues moving forward.”
GM previously limited the availability for certain electronic features for the light-duty Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra as it sought to cut back on the number of chips it used per-unit. Some fetaures that had limited availability included heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear outboard seats, heated steering wheels, and front and rear park assist, among more. Certain features were recently added back to the pickups’ order books as the chip supply improved.
In addition to the GM Silao Plant in Mexico the GM Fort Wayne Assembly facility in Indiana, the refreshed 2022 Silverado will also enter production at the GM Oshawa Plant in Canada this spring. It’s unclear if the current semiconductor supply situation has delayed the start of production at Oshawa, however.
Subscribe to GM Authority for more Chevy Silverado news, GMC Sierra news, Chevy news, GMC news, and around-the-clock GM news coverage.