Parts Shortage Resolved at Chrysler’s Belvidere Plant

Production is scheduled to resume Sunday at Chrysler LLC’s assembly plant in Belvidere, IL, site of a parts shortage that shut down the 3-shift operation for three days.

Production will resume with the third shift at 11 p.m.

Chrysler offers no details about the shortage, other than to acknowledge it involved several parts.

The shutdown delays a planned move to reduce Belvidere to two shifts. A website operated by United Auto Workers Local 1268, which represents the plant’s 3,800 hourly employees, says the third shift now will continue through March 7.

It had been scheduled for elimination Feb. 25 as part of a restructuring initiative announced in November.

Belvidere is home to the Dodge Caliber C-car and Jeep Compass and Patriot cross-utility vehicles. Daily output is 1,000 vehicles, according to Ward’s data.

For the 3-month period ending Jan. 31, Caliber sales were up 3.8%, vs. like-2007. Compass deliveries were down 32.1%.

A similar comparison for Patriot sales is not possible, because it was launched in January 2007. But its calendar-year sales total of 40,434 bested the Compass’ full-year results by nearly 1,000 units.