DETROIT -- Mazda6 and Ford Mustang output at the AutoAlliance International plant in Michigan will be halted through Friday, March 11, because of parts shortages, some caused by a fire last week at a key Magna International Inc. interiors plant.
Ford Motor Co. has halted Mustang output because of a parts shortage unrelated to the Magna plant fire.
"Now that Mustang is experiencing a different and unrelated parts shortage, neither product will be produced and the plant will not run," Ford spokeswoman Marcey Evans said. She said Ford doesn't disclose details about parts shortages.
Mazda Motor Corp. stopped production of the Mazda6 sedan in Flat Rock, Mich., after the Magna plant fire left the automaker with a shortage of headliners and other parts.
Production of the Mazda6 is expected to resume Mon. March 14, said spokesman Jeremy Barnes.
Fire's aftermath
Last week, General Motors Co. was forced to shut down production at six of its plants because of parts shortages from the fire. GM resumed most production Tuesday at a Michigan plant that produces large crossovers such as the Chevrolet Traverse and at an Ohio factory that builds the Chevrolet Cruze.
About a quarter of the production lines at the Magna Atreum plant in Howell, Mich., were out of commission after the blaze damaged 40 percent of the 187,000-square-foot operation, the supplier said. In addition to Mazda and GM, the factory provides door panels, interior trim and instrument panels to Chrysler Group LLC, Ford and Nissan.
Construction crews continue to work on some of the heavily damaged areas of the Magna plant. About half of the factory's operations are running, with about 95 percent of workers called back to help with recovery efforts, said Magna spokeswoman Tracy Fuerst.
"Some of the tooling was damaged. However, we continue to work with our customers to carry out repair of the tools. In many cases this work has already been completed," she said. "As a result, we have begun to supply many of our customers on a limited basis."
Fuerst said Magna will not have to rely on other factories to make up for lost output, although there is no timeline for when the plant will be fully operational.
The fire, which started around 5 p.m. Wednesday, took nearly a day to extinguish, forced canceled shifts at GM plants across the country, and slowed Mazda output at the AutoAlliance factory.
Magna officials first entered the plant around 4 p.m. Thursday, after firefighters finished extinguishing hot spots.
GM brings back shifts
In response to the fire, GM canceled production shifts Thursday at its plant in Lordstown, Ohio, which produces the Chevrolet Cruze. Production also was halted Friday. Workers in the west plant were called in for the third shift Monday, while workers at the east plant were back for the first shift Tuesday.
The Delta Township plant near Lansing, Mich., ran shorter shifts Friday, canceled overtime shifts scheduled for Saturday and canceled third shift production Monday and Tuesday. Overtime for all three shifts has been scheduled for Saturday, March 12, to make up for lost production of the Buick Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevrolet Traverse.
GM's Flint, Mich., assembly plant was closed Friday but reopened Monday. The plant makes the heavy-duty and regular cab versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups.
GM's Fort Wayne, Ind., plant operated its first shift on Friday but canceled second shift general assembly. All workers returned for regular shifts Monday. The plant makes standard and hybrid versions of the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra.
GM's Arlington, Texas, plant, which produces standard and hybrid versions of the Cadillac Escalade, Chevrolet Tahoe and GMC Yukon, canceled overtime shifts on Saturday but rescheduled them for Saturday, March 12.
The automaker's Detroit-Hamtramck plant in Michigan, which produces the Chevrolet Volt, Cadillac DTS and Buick Lucerne, canceled an overtime shift scheduled for Friday but ran normal production Monday. The Oshawa, Ontario, plant slowed line speed for production of the Chevrolet Impala on Friday but has since returned to normal line speed.
GM spokesman Chris Lee said the automaker would determine whether engine and stamping plants would also have to adjust schedules.
Ford, Chrysler and Nissan didn't report any slowdowns because of fire-related supply shortages.
