Automotive News [sub] reports that the strike at American Axle (AA) will soon claim its 31st and 32nd factories: the Orion and Fairfax plants that manufacture the Chevrolet Malibu and Pontiac G6. "GM is fast running out of an American Axle-supplied knuckle used in the rear suspension of the Malibu and Pontiac G6 sedans, said Mike Dunn, shop chairman of UAW Local 5960. The local represents some 2,900 hourly workers at GM's Orion (Mich.) assembly plant. The plant makes about 1,000 G6 and Malibu sedans per week. Dunn said a shortage of the knuckle also will shut GM's Fairfax assembly plant in Kansas City, Kan., by mid-month." As predicted, the AA strike's impact has spread from GM's slow-selling SUVs and pickups to cash-flow critical cars; the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant (Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS) stopped operations today. You've got to wonder: is this the bus GM didn't see? And if so, why not?
Find Reviews by Make:
Read all comments
Maybe they did see the bus but they simply are out of cash.
I’m not an expert on the licensing arrangements between a supplier like Amer. Axle and GM, but doesn’t GM own the designs on the parts? Would it be possible to just farm out construction to somewhere else (even at short-term greater cost)?
Seems like diversifying your suppliers would be a good way to keep someone like AA from gumming up the works…
Phase out all the models that have parts shortages? Redesign the models to use some other part?
American Axle has the tooling to create the parts – as those can’t be made overnight and are very expensive to make (a huge reason why the implants who make flexible factories [can quickly switch over to build a different model with only a weeks down time and allows them to switch between slow and fast selling models] versus the Big 2.8 who have to trod out dead models just to keep factories running).
AndyR :
March 31st, 2008 at 7:00 pm
I’m not an expert on the licensing arrangements between a supplier like Amer. Axle and GM, but doesn’t GM own the designs on the parts? Would it be possible to just farm out construction to somewhere else (even at short-term greater cost)?
Seems like diversifying your suppliers would be a good way to keep someone like AA from gumming up the works…
I think we’ve all been through that ad nauseam regarding the Chrysler-PlasTech dealings.
I think we’ve all been through that ad nauseam regarding the Chrysler-PlasTech dealings.
Ah – I was out of that one… I’ll review and come back. Thanks!
How many plants are left?
I can’t imagine they can tolerate the Malibu being out of production for long. It may not be contributing much to the bottom line yet, but what a black eye it will be to have this car unavailable due to strike.
Hopefully GM is smart enough to stop making G6’s and use the parts they have left to make Malibu’s.
After decades of confrontational relations with their suppliers, forcing them to use UAW labor, and them beating them down on price to the point of bankruptcy, who knew this would come back to bite GM in the ass?
Oh, that’s right, pretty much everyone.
NickR, I had the same initial reaction, then I realized that a) they’re barely making any right now as it is and b) no one can buy one regardless of whether GM can spit one out. Theoretically, that would change eventually but how long has it been “on sale”?
thalter,
You mean to tell me that GM had something to do with AA having an UAW workforce? OMFG! That is toooo much. I would say the whole thing is ironic, but it’s not really unexpected at all, is it?
THREE different rental places I’ve now seen the new body style Malibu at around here… again, not in the numbers of ‘palas or ‘balts, but there really shouldn’t be one there yet. I guess folks can test drive them at the rent-a-car place when the dealerships run out. Hell, they’ve got G6 galore, don’t rental places care about product overlap at all?
This situation really drives home that this whole auto manufacturing structure is so fragile.
Just something that I thought about last night: A rear knuckle really wouldn’t be too hard to manufacture somewhere else on a weeks notice, I”m guessing. I think the average machine shop could copy one down to 1/100th mm within 2 days. There’s probably 1/50th mm margin of error… dont they hold the hub bearing and speed sensor? Attach to the bottom of the strut/rear bar or arm? Sorry if my tolerances guesstimates are way off, college has been awhile ago, but I have busted my knuckles on a knuckle or two lately, one with hub assembly the other with bearings. I DO know machine shops can do some amazing things, I do NOT have any clue how molds are made (I’m guessing the knuckle is cast steel/iron coated with rust proofing agent).
I tried to edit my comment… that 60 minutes went by in 3! I wasn’t meaning to contradict jaje, it just seemed to me out of all the components on a car, a knuckle is very simple.
Looks like AA has given GM a “knuckle sandwich”.
If it halts the Malibu, it might be a “knockout blow”.
Ouch.
Bunter
Landcrusher:
AA is a GM spinoff (similar to Delphi), so they of course have UAW labor. However, the UAW’s contact with the Big 2.8 has a clause that requires them to give preferential treatment to suppliers that use union labor, effectively requiring their supply chain to use expensive union labor.
RayH:
While any competent machine shop could easily generate the rear knuckles (or just about any other component), the cost to do so would be exorbitant compared to the mass produced cost.
@ Ray H,
You also have to take into account that parts aren’t just made and thrown into a car. There is a significant amount of testing that goes into validating the parts meet their functional requirements and can be produced repeatedly within a known set of limits.
Even if you just move a tool from one place in a building to another, it has to be re-validated. This requires a limited production run and many measurements to be taken and reams of paperwork to be produced and reviewed.
“Hopefully GM is smart enough to stop making G6’s and use the parts they have left to make Malibu’s.’
HEY!
Don’t let the facts get in the way of a good comment!!
Sales from Automotive News for Feb. ’08:
Pont G6 16,901
Chev Malibu 12,460
Chev Impala 25,196
Looks like the G6 has strong sales as well. Or at least they’re movin; however that has to happen.
Impala still seems to be the best GM seller. Even if some go to rental fleets. Americans still want a bigger, efficient car at a great value.
So it seems…
gawdodirt, I think the point is that the Malibu is tagged as being one of the standardbearers of GMs future, while the G6 is not. Therefore, if it comes down to a choice between making one OR the other, GM should probably build the Malibu.
Hmm, cars on short supply – maybe production will finally meet market demands… VBG!