Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic swept across the globe – and brought along the ensuing supply chain issues and shortages – logistics have become increasing difficult for automakers to navigate. Now, GM Chair and CEO Mary Barra has stated that logistics remains General Motors’ biggest difficulty at the moment.
During an interview, Barra commented that vehicle logistics is the biggest challenge GM currently faces. Despite having a plethora of vehicles built and ready to go, Barra stated that it’s difficult to field enough commercial trucks and railways to facility delivery to dealerships.
It’s worth noting that Barra also mentioned the need to build factories closer to the aforementioned trucks and railways.
This recent development follows previous coverage from GM Authority that the Detroit-based automaker has been cutting back on its production plans in response to a rail car shortage. In fact, some estimates show that there are approximately 70,000 new vehicles waiting to be shipped to dealers. Other reports indicate that there are thousands of units of the Chevy Silverado and GMC Sierra in limbo near the GM Fort Wayne plant in Indiana.
Notably, this shortage could have impacts beyond the automotive industry, as food and grain deliveries have been affected as well.
In an effort to help alleviate this logistics problem, General Motors has been taking actions into its own hands as of late. As GM Authority reported back in January 2023, The General announced at a dealer representatives meeting that it was considering buying 400 heavy-duty trucks that its employees could then use to deliver finished vehicles directly to dealerships.
With the Detroit-based automaker expecting to recover to full production capacity by the end of the year, a move like this would help to alleviate logistics challenges until the commercial trucking and railway systems are able to recover.
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Comments
Buy? GM at one time built the trucks, she is wanting to buy.
Truck and bus built many before the “powers to be had a better idea”. GM was great until the non manufacturing people took control and f’d it up.
Exactly, that is why the best boss’s are always the ones who started on the floor and worked their way up. These people who are just appointed their position, and never did the jobs they are in charge of, are usually the worst boss’s ever. Mary just proves that fact.
“GM at one time built the trucks, she is wanting to buy.”
And the locomotives. And the heavy truck engines.
When profit is put ahead of vision, and decision makers don’t understand (or care about) the entire picture, you get into corners like this. Not all of this is Mary’s fault, but hopefully she’s aware of the irony.
Greed over Vision
Sounds like a management issue. Par for the course!
Every time I read what Mary said I think how many feet can she put in her mouth at one time. She fell straight down from the Roger Smith tree and didn’t roll one inch!
Delivery has gotten worse!!! Truck was built in March, shipped in Apr and has been sitting in GA lot since 4/22. No date for delivery. There is no reason for 45 day storage timeframe. The lot is less than 2 hrs from my dealership. Dealer told me he could not hire a driver to pick the truck up. I don’t know why because vehicles are transferred between dealerships without questions. This is crazy.
GM should create their own transport company. A lot of vehicle damage happens from the transport companies.
She is WOKEING GM into the ground. The majority of Americans don’t want an electric vehicle and she is taking GM down this road without the needed infrastructure to be able to allow it to work. Sad leadership. Rehire Bob Lutz.
LOLOLOLOLOL Dave with such a silly response.
Electric vehicles can’t be woke. “Woke” means being alert to racial prejudice and discrimination and NOT things you are either afraid of or don’t understand.
When you throw in “programs” like “environmental justice” in the picture, they are.
Yeah they are rebuilding their Transport company now.
If they do they should fund it only through a non GM owned company otherwise they would incur legacy cost…headcount, Union, etc.
GM didn’t used to lead from behind. Back in the good old days GM controlled their destiny and created opportunities for themselves instead of being a victim of circumstance like they are now. What are you waiting for, make it happen! This is a huge problem in this country today, young people are no longer taught to lead and engage the world, instead we teach them to be led, very sad, this is why no one wants to work, the leftists are ruining our country.
It is criminal that this once great company is only a shadow of its former self. Too bad there are not criminal penalties for CEOs that destroy companies like Roger Smith et, al, did
The Govt. does not want leaders and people who can think for themselves. Govt. wants people who are dependent on the Govt. for all their needs. Poor people do as they are told or they do not eat.
WTF was that remark about!. Thought we were talking about transporting cars and trucks.
Probably looking into this because the EVs can’t make it to the rail yards on a single charge. Just a thought. ✌️
Buy back LORDSTOWN!
No brainer. 🇺🇸👍🏻
And lose more money.
I may be mistaken, but was there not a clause in the purchase agreement that the plant would revert back to GM in the event of a Lordstown bankruptcy?
GM needs some new blood that can think outside the box. Use the internet and market the vehicles online and offer a discount for customers who are willing to come and get their vehicles. GM did this back in the 70’s. There was a program that allowed employees to order new vehicles and pick them up at the factory. That was 50 years ago! Surely GM and their dealers can figure out some way to get new vehicles into willing customers’ hands! Think Mary think! Or hire some people who can!
Dealer franchise agreements and state laws might prevent this from ever happening. Besides, National Dealer Council will go nuts on this proposal. Not worth the aggravation.
The dealers can be part of this too. They need some creative people who can develop creative solutions and strategies, rather than just wallowing in their circumstances. GM has to figure out how to get these vehicles to their customers and it’s in the dealers’ best interests to help solve the problem.
In 1999 and 2000 I bought new Volvo’s on the factory delivery program. Volvo paid for the round trip airline ticket and one night in a hotel. I spent 4 days in Sweden got a tour of the factory saved $3K and got the exact special order cars I wanted. My Lyriq was built in May and they have no idea when it will arive. I would pay for my own airline ticket and the full shiping charge if I could pick it up sooner.
Yup GM had a similar program 50 years ago, at least for employees. Unfortunately, there may not be any people left at GM who remember how things used to work.
they all took their pension buy out and got da hell out.
.. .. I remember the plan, very well .
I hired in to a Cadillac, GMC dealership, in 1958, happily , retired 2015 .
General Motors enjoyed a 48% market share . [ The FTC tried to ” break up “, the corporate structure ]
Now, GM , has a 14% , ” cut of the pie “. .. .. .. Was it ” arrogance “, on the part of Upper management,
AND, the dealer body ? .. Someone put a lot of effort into this downfall ” ( hard work ! )
The overseas delivery programs work because the import duties on used cars are much lower than new cars. Volvo made similar, or even more, money after flying you out and giving you a discount than they would have paying those extra taxes.
The cars were not brought in as used as it was in the past. Prior to the change in the late 80’s you had to put 2500 miles on the car before it went on the boat so it would be used and titled in your name. As it is now it is a new car on an MSO and Volvo and Mercedes Benz covers the duties. Since Volvo is now owned by Geely the deal is not as good, they still give you the air plane ticket but they don’t discount the car.
GM IS OWNED BY CHINA.
The son (who lives in California) of a good friend of mine out money down on a Camaro several months ago. Mind you, the car is built and is sitting in the shipping yard at LGR, but the dealership has no idea when the car will be delivered to California. The status is “in-transit”. A pick-up-from-the-factory program would be great in this instance.
The Teamsters, would not ” approve “, non union drivers coming into their domain .
..Easy . . . . BUY BACK , LORDSTOWN, OHIO ASSEMBLY PLANT ! ~ ~ ( for a Buck ) ~ ~
Lordstown assembly belongs to Foxconn.
Foxconn is trying to back out,
.. Dearest , Foxconn , has never PAID, for this transaction ! .. .. Foxconn, ” backed out “, of their proposed WISCONSIN Project ! { &, on and on } But, they are very ” profitable ” . . . . .
Well if it is such a simple problem to resolve why are some of you just posting on the web?
It is not just GM shipping and delivery is a problem for most products.
The economic “elation”, disregarding a possible (and desperately needed) recession completely, with folks continuing to spend irrationally, is the source of the problem, claimed “chip shortages” continuing, aside. The rail companies are willing to strike because of the continuing propensity to spend, spend, spend (workers are rolling in dough). Now even UPS too.
I don’t know what the answer is sort of the Fed raising rates by 5% in one fell swoop.
Recent studies have shown that any salary increase that happened during the pandemic because of worker shortages have now been wiped out by inflation. What makes you think workers are rolling in dough?
The rail companies, on the other hand, are posting record profits.
One of the many pitfalls of just in time inventory, vendors are reluctant to make investments in equipment to operate efficiently. Corporations hire the lowest bidder, you get what you pay for. The kinks in the supply chain has been exposed since Covid. Global shipping is an Achilles heel, political and environmental concerns will make it impossible to keep things running efficiently. Transition to domestic sourcing will take time, something companies are finally realizing. It’s hard to maintain control of quality and delivery of products when everything is so dependent on outside sources.
GM should control the whole process, everything. But we need competent people in those positions that get it done and/or find a way to get it done.
Funny… gm (and other automakers) did not have this issue when they built parts in-house in the United States.
Where did the rail cars go? We had plenty and they functioned just fine prior to Covid. Someone wants things to be the way they are or we wouldn’t be in this mess.
I wonder who? Couldn’t be someone in the white house could it?
. Maybe, Our current President is ” hiding the automobile transport ‘, RAIL CARS !
Very easy to hide , { like classified documents } .. .. in the Bathroom, on Stage, etc
With the delivery charge on a new vehicle, it has become an important part of the profits in the profit margins in an auto sale. A truck delivery can be as high as $1,400 on top of MSRP
Ordered a 2023 equinox primier on 4 6 2023 and been built for 5 to 6 weeks. Still sitting at plant in MX.
GM isn’t the company they used to be .
This logistics issue is much bigger than she is letting on. The problem is very bad. Not only can dealers and customers not get the vehicles that they badly need, customers are throwing their hands up and going to other manufacturers for their new vehicles. And not just a few. GM once again seems to have the worst of the supply issues. (just like microchips) Other manufacturers have more vehicles available on lots than GM and customers are buying what they can get their hands on. When backed into a corner, customer loyalty can and will evaporate quickly.
Customers are running to othe r manufacturers…yet GM just posted sales gains for the last quarter.🤷
Thanks Mayor Pete, transsspertation is a failure under your leadership. Thanks sleepy crooked Joe your administration is the worst.
Al,
Should a person at a third grade spelling level really complain about anyone?
You didn’t pickup what Al was putting down.
Jofa, go fly a plane, oh wait that’s transssportation.
There is still a shortage of truck drivers. A trainingPlace near me is packed every week training new drivers. Seems there are plenty of drivers who own their own trucks but are busy or are not equipped to ship cars. Those complaining about delivery fees either they show it to you or just add it to the price. It doesn’t matter your going to pay for it. Delivery fees go up because of fuel cost and just the simple fact that everything has gone up. Tires cost more, maintenance is more expensive. On a average loan a 1500 dollar delivery fee is about 30 dollars more a month, if you can’t afford that you can’t afford the car.
In my area GM dealerships has far more vehicles to sell than any of the compeition. Sure its different in other states but no manufacture is getting all their vehicles to dealerships as fast a they would like.
I would think the thousands of immigrants wanting to enter the country, legal or illegal would gladly take a job as truck driver. The work force of this country first came from Northern Europe, then Southern Europe (grandpa started in the coal mines near Pittsburgh around 1910).
Why does she not use her pull and get on the horn and call “the big guy” and bootybanger.
All the great GM plants that were closed because they became too expensive to upgrade and the work force became too expensive, I’m sure they all had railroad sidings both to bring materials to the plant and ship completed vehicles. Railroads have always been the least costly for shipping goods, trucks would only be used for the last mile.
To have the most robust transportation system is a good railroad system. This country has fallen behind since billions are spent on highways.
In Canada they only manufacture vehicles in Ontario and Quebec, then ship them across the country (and to the US). I always wondered why they don’t build anything on the west side of the country, especially trucks, that’s all Alberta and Saskatchewan buys.
Has any company tried multiple smaller facilities to have vehicles closer to final destination?
I legit don’t know if it would be better or not worth it.
Thoughts?
.. .. They have been there & done that . .. .. { for many years } F A C T S ~ ~
Lordstown has a railroad line that ran right behind the plant and now between the new battery plant. They could have shipped the batteries right around corner to the assembly line. Nothing about closing the plant made sense! Did I mention that they had access to the Ohio Turnpike located right in front of the plant.They also access to Ohio routes 76/80 about 5 miles down the road. Would they had to invest in the plant? Yes! But look how much they are investing in these other plants!! How much savings would they have saved by shipping the batteries right around the corner??
Bill B. It might sound good to have most manufacturing plants near buy but it presents other problems. For one the workforce talent. When companies look to expand, demographics has a large weight in the many decisions. When a high tech manufacturer, like battery production and development, would want to be near universities for the skill sets needed. Another as I learned living and working in Florida for 33 years is to have redundancy. My company wanted to expand into another state since a major hurricane to take our site off line. Tornado’s can wipe out a town. It’s all a balancing act where to build.
Lol.
Ultium starts about $16.50 and hour.
You don’t get much talent with that pay scale.
The biggest challenge is the lack of leadership.
GM stock price has stagnated since the IPO over ten years ago.
The biggest thing mary had done is cut jobs and offshore products.
Mary tell us what we’ve all known for more than 2 years. Wife & I have owned several GM/mostly F-body cars since 1980 & now they’re killing the only style car (Camaro) that my wife will drive. Our 2002 TransAm purchase was quick decision as they were ending the line that year. Now that we’ve retired, planned for 2 vehicle purchases, but of course the great virus intervened circa 2020. End of 2021 place order for 2022 Camaro which wasn’t delivered for 9 months, & from some situations I’ve seen, others are waiting far longer. I looked/priced both Tahoes & Acadias but ended up going with a 4Runner which was available. So GM & the people running it had better hope the younger generations are happy with the way they do business now, as lots of us older ones miss the way business used to be run by satisfying the customer.
The equinox we’re interested in and was made an sittings in Mexico since October 2022. We ordered it in April 2023 and here it is July 2023 and it’s still in Mexico. All we hear is “logistics”.
China owns controlling interest in GM.
They’re motto is, WE COULD CARE LESS.
You can thank bill Clinton and democrats for that.
America needs POLITICAL CLIMATE CHANGE.
I have leased 2 vehicles with GM for the past 5 years and I have been looking to Re-Lease since one of my cars is in an extension. Every dealership I visit, they say one thing online, but when I get there, they tell me they don’t have the vehicle I saw online and tries to offer me a fully loaded S.U.V. $200 more a month than than what I use to pay and each dealership gives me the same run around. Each dealership states they are in short supply.
My 2024 GMC Terrain was built on July 3 and shortly after the dealership said it was waiting for shipping and as of now it shows up as delayed and they have no clue why it’s delayed. It’s now been built for almost 3 months and it shouldn’t take that long to be delivered to customer.
Someone is dropping the ball at GM. Other manufacturers do not seem to have delivery issues. The trucks are all contractors and they go to who
Pays the most!
Lordstown made the most affordable cars the cavalier, cobalt and cruze. They had 3 shifts and 7 days a week. You could buy a cavailer from $8,999 up tp $16,000 and we sold every one we could get our hands on. Now the lowest price vehicles the trax, envista start at $22,000-$23,000. The trailblazer and encroe gx start around $24,000-$27,000. All of them are made in Korea and even take longer logistically to arrive and have no unions to deal with. You would think the union with current strike woud rahter add US jobs, gain more mebership, and make US auto market great again! Its time for Mary to go!
You can thank the democrats for ALL America’s FAILURE
GM buying 400 heavy-duty trucks?
Union or non-union drivers?
The infrastructure exists – management just does not know how to use it!