North America Production Down 12.7% in September

Automakers in North America slowed light-vehicle production 12.7% in September to 1,334,801 units.

U.S. plants built 859,131 LVs, tumbling 17.7% year-over-year to the lowest September total since 2012. Car production shrank 37.3% to 214,948 units, due to slowdowns almost across the board, including from General Motors (-64.3%), Honda (-58.1%) and Hyundai (-29.0%).

Light-truck output in the U.S. fell 8.1% to 644,183 units. FCA was down 11.6% to 101,054 and GM slowed 15.0% to 119,025.

Going against the trend, Subaru pulled back light-truck production 27.1% to 15,980 units and boosted car output 62.5% to 13,925. Much of the growth came from the 8,601 Imprezas assembled in Lafayette, IN, which were not built there until November last year.  

The U.S. 9-month total was 8,277,994, falling 8.4% behind same-period 2016 amid weak sales and bloated inventories.

Canada also saw major declines, dropping 21.1% to 160,480 units in September. Ford (-15.9%), Toyota (-11.8%) and FCA (-13.7%) witnessed double-digit slowdowns.

The extended strike at GM’s Ingersoll, ON, plant brought production down 60.7% to 17,688. The 2,750 unionized employees were protesting jobs moving to Mexico, where the Chevrolet  Equinox also is built. It was the first assembly plant strike in Canada in 21 years.

Honda was the only manufacturer in Canada to increase production over year-ago, inching up 1.27% to 37,651.  

FCA stopped car production in the U.S. and Mexico (after building 7,936 units there last September), but 20,058 cars rolled off the lines in Brampton, ON. Still, that was down 3.1% from year-ago.

Through September, Canada’s LV tally was down 6.3% to 1,676,726 units. Both car (-8.2%) and light-truck (-6.3%) totals fell behind same-period 2016.

Manufacturers in Mexico outpaced the region, increasing production 11.6% in September to 315,190 LVs. The growth came from light-truck builds, which were up 37.1% to 182,296, while car output fell 11.0%.

Several models began production in Mexico less than 12 months ago, including the Volkswagen Tiguan and Kia Rio, both of which reached over 50,000 units through September.  

Mexico’s LV 9-month total was 2,908,047, racing 13.7% ahead of like-2016. The country’s share of the region grew to 22.6% from 19.1% at the same time last year.

Overall North America production was down 3.9% through September with 12,862,767 LVs.

[email protected]