Auto industry growth seems to be reflected in a shorter summer break for the Detroit Three. The automakers historically stop production at their plants for the first two weeks of July but will have to shorten or cancel the break due to rising car sales, the Detroit Free Press reported.
Chrysler will keep four assembly plants running as usual; Ford will halt production for at least four plants for just a week; and General Motors will continue manufacturing at a third of its plants for the first half of this month.
Pressure on Chrysler to keep up with demand is keeping the automaker from shutting down plants as normal.
"I think our plants are doing a good job of keeping up," said Reid Bigland, Chrysler's U.S. sales chief, as quoted by the Free Press. "But they are able to keep up by doing things like shortening summer shutdowns, working some overtime."
Chrysler sales in the U.S. have risen 12 percent in the first two quarters of the year, a figure substantially higher than the overall industry's increase of 4 percent.
Automakers usually pause production at plants for the two weeks to get ready to switch over to the new model year. GM's summer shutdowns are generally timed based on new or refreshed models.
"Today, plant downtime scheduling is driven by specific vehicle life cycles and market demand," said GM spokesman Bill Grotz, as quoted by the Free Press. "This approach gives us more flexibility and enables quicker response to market conditions."
Ford will close many of its plants for maintenance during the next two weeks, but demand for select truck models will keep four assembly plants and seven powertrain and stamping plants running during one of the weeks.
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