AutoInformed

Final Chevrolet Cruze rolls off the line at GM Lordstown Assembly Plant in Warren, Ohio because GM is moving more production to Mexico.

President Donald Trump’s threat to close the U.S.-Mexico border to all trade would have an almost immediate and devastating impact on U.S. automotive and auto parts production and employment. The North American auto industry is highly integrated, and U.S. producers rely on over $112 billion in automotive and parts imports and nearly $36 billion in exports that crossed the U.S.-Mexico border in 2018. (see AutoInformed 2018 Auto Retail Sales Down. Transaction Prices Set Record)

There are few vehicles assembled in the United States that do not rely on Mexico for at least some parts content. Vehicle assembly is the quintessential “complete set” — an assembly plant cannot build a partial vehicle. Even if a few relatively minor parts are missing, automakers do not make a practice of storing the vehicles and then repairing them when the parts are ready. This repair work alone creates the potential for quality issues. Since it is impossible to do a partial build, the assembly plant and many of its associated supplier plants will be idle until the automaker can obtain sufficient stock to relaunch production. Continue reading →