MICROCHIPS

Ford Motor Co. told dealers this week it would not lower their product allocations in response to a shortage of microchips used in vehicles.

Automaker purchasing teams are scrambling after the Texas winter storm that shut refineries and pinched supplies of needed byproducts. "This problem is bigger and closer than the semiconductor issue," one auto executive said.

GM did not disclose the impact on volumes or say which supplier or parts were affected by the chip shortage, but said it intends to recover as much of the lost output as possible.