GM Invests In Silverado and Sierra Assembly Plant

[Gorehamj]

John Goreham
Contributing Writer, GM-Trucks.com
5-30-2019

GM's heavy investment in the Fort Wayne assembly plant since 2015 is now up to $1.5 billion. A new $24 million investment will enhance the plant’s conveyors and other tooling to support increased production of our favorite two trucks, the Sierra and Silverado. GM says that the work will be completed this summer. 

GM CEO, Mary Barra, toured the plant and spoke to workers today. “We are building Chevrolet and GMC crew cab pickups at record volume and mix levels to meet customer demand and the $24 million investment will allow us to build even more,” said Barra. “The team here at Fort Wayne has done an outstanding job helping us satisfy customers throughout this launch. Our product ramp-up was very smooth and the quality has been exceptional. Crew cab sales have been very strong, and we are expanding customer choice with new models, more cab choices and innovative new powertrains.”

 

GM says that the new trucks are selling at a rate about 20% higher than the old trucks did. GM is projecting a big increase for the coming second quarter. Deliveries of the double-cab models built in Fort Wayne began during the first quarter.

 

The Fort Wayne Assembly plant employs over 4,500 workers. The plant has over 40 miles of conveyors and 97 truck docks with a material delivery to a dock every 2.6 minutes. The plant contributed $76,826,918.52 in income tax revenue and paid out $418,631,064  in wages last year. The plant covers 716 acres. 

[Black02Silverado]

Nice to see GM investing more into the plant.  Now if they can just move the Mexico production up here as well.

[dtnel78]

Bring it home to the U.S. Only downside is these trucks aren't affordable for the average person. 

 

I've had my Tahoe 14 yrs and had the factory bumpers on 11 with no rusting, corrosion then had a accident and they were replaced and within a year with the same level of care they're rusting. Cheaper, thinner and thinner coated parts don't last as long anymore. 

 

Should try to find some steel powder coated heavy duty bumpers for front and rear as coated properly they'll outlast the chrome crap. 

[ickyoldman]

Cheap cheap cheap is the new mantra of GM.  My 2016 2500 isn't as good as my 2004 was.......I'm done

[Farmer_2]

6 hours ago, Black02Silverado said:

Nice to see GM investing more into the plant.  Now if they can just move the Mexico production up here as well.

Wish I had known my new 2018 Silverado CC LT was made in Mexico; I would have kept shopping before buying. I had not bought a new vehicle in 15 years and am usually a savvy shopper. But I didn't do my homework thoroughly this time. I know they say there is no difference in quality between the GM trucks made in Mexico and the ones made in the US/Canada, but it's the thought that counts. 

 

I also agree that the price is getting to the point of being beyond what the average, middle-class consumer can afford. But since they are increasing production at the Indiana plant, maybe not....

[Black02Silverado]

11 hours ago, Farmer_2 said:

Wish I had known my new 2018 Silverado CC LT was made in Mexico; I would have kept shopping before buying. I had not bought a new vehicle in 15 years and am usually a savvy shopper. But I didn't do my homework thoroughly this time. I know they say there is no difference in quality between the GM trucks made in Mexico and the ones made in the US/Canada, but it's the thought that counts. 

 

I also agree that the price is getting to the point of being beyond what the average, middle-class consumer can afford. But since they are increasing production at the Indiana plant, maybe not....

Quality from Mexico from what I have heard isn't any worse than US built.  The fact that keeping things in the US mean more jobs for us here in the US.  

[Sierra Dan]

Its a shame the Lordstown Ohio plant was shut down.

Trucks and Full Size Suv's are in high demand due to cheaper gas.

Look for a shift in trend as soon as Oil spikes again. GM will Wish they had the Sedan factory up and running again.

[Sierra Dan]

Most of the parts are made in Mexico anyway so why should it matter where the trucks are assembled in terms of "quality"?

[Darksky]

I think that most of these posters just want the JOBS back here on US soil, where IMHO they belong. It wasn’t foreign capital that bailed out GM when they were sucking air.  I kind of feel that shipping the work outside of CONUS for cheaper labor is a betrayal. But what do I know...

[Paintor]

On 5/31/2019 at 11:09 AM, Sierra Dan said:

Most of the parts are made in Mexico anyway so why should it matter where the trucks are assembled in terms of "quality"?

New Tariff’s on Mexico. Parts prices going up.

[L86 All Terrain]

As a Canadian, I would love to see Trump lay down a tariff on Mexican made GM's, so that it cost the exact same for GM to build in Mexico as it does in USA or Canada. If GM saves 10% per unit to produce in Mexico, charge them 10% extra to import into the USA. But at the same time, I pretty much can no longer afford SLT All Terrain's. Prices have driven me out of the market and I wont settle for an SLE trim, so building them in USA or Canada wont help me personally. I just want to see our economy rebound, taxes/prices to stop going up, and inflation to slow down. But that wont happen until we tell the Federal Reserve and Bank Of Canada to kick rocks, which would mean war on the both of us. 

[powerhaulic]

The paint on my '17 Mexican SLT sucked, if you looked at it sideways it would chip.

My '18 Indiana truck has been far superior in terms of assembly and paint quality.

Looking forward to my 2020

[HondaHawkGT]

On 5/30/2019 at 5:08 PM, ickyoldman said:

Cheap cheap cheap is the new mantra of GM.  My 2016 2500 isn't as good as my 2004 was.......I'm done

Right. That GARBAGE steering design on the GMT800s along with its inadequate frame, rotted cab corners, and inadequate diff and axle tube capacity were really the golden era in trucks design. 

Edited August 1, 2019 by HondaHawkGT

[ickyoldman]

On 8/1/2019 at 3:48 AM, HondaHawkGT said:

Right. That GARBAGE steering design on the GMT800s along with its inadequate frame, rotted cab corners, and inadequate diff and axle tube capacity were really the golden era in trucks design. 

Never had any issues with my 04 in the 12 years that I owned it...........4 dealer visits with my 2016.............You do the math genius........