Gm Slashes North American Truck Production

fbachman · April 28, 2008

DETROIT -- General Motors today moved to cut full-size truck production in North America by 138,000 units for the remainder of the year.

GM will take out about 88,000 units of full-size pickup production and 50,000 units of full-size SUV production, the automaker said in a press release.

GM said that it is eliminating one shift of production at its full-size pickup truck assembly plants in Pontiac, Mich.; Flint, Mich.; and Oshawa, Ontario; and its full-size SUV assembly plant in Janesville, Wis.

The Pontiac and Flint pickup plants already are idled because of a parts shortage stemming from the UAW's strike at American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc. The Janesville SUV plant is currently running one shift because of that strike. The Oshawa pickup truck plant has reopened temporarily with limited production.

The decisions were made to bring production capacity more in line with market demand, GM said in a press release.

Shift reductions will be effective on the following dates:

• Flint Assembly (Heavy Duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra) -- July 14

•Janesville (Chevrolet Tahoe and Suburban, GMC Yukon, Yukon XL) -- July 14

• Pontiac Assembly (Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra) -- July 14

• Oshawa Truck (Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra) -- Sept. 8

" With rising fuel prices, a softening economy, and a downward trend on current and future market demand for full-size trucks, a significant adjustment was needed to align our production with market realities," said Troy Clarke, president of GM North America.

Clarke said that with the market shifting toward cars and crossovers, GM is seeing strong sales of the new Chevrolet Malibu, Cadillac CTS, Chevrolet Cobalt, Pontiac G6, Chevrolet Impala, Buick Enclave and GMC Acadia.

Clarke added that the company is continuing to explore options to increase car and crossover production.

unit731 · April 29, 2008

It is truely sad.

The economy is in a mess. The housing market is all screwed up. Food prices worldwide are increasing. The trade imbalance is terrible. The deficit is beyond comprehension.

China is placing two oil fired power plants on line every week.

Let's face it, the situation is dire.

Who is their right mind is going to purchase a pickup truck just to commute to work and back?

slomo007 · April 29, 2008

We need to turn to natural gas powered vehicles ASAP. America can produce its own natural gas.

Wingnut · April 29, 2008

Yewf...Not good.

I get it.

But still...Not good.

Jaredkm · April 29, 2008

Its true, this is a shame, but not suprising either.

Right now, in Northern Alberta, where I reside, gas is $1.289/Liter (which, if my math is right, is 4.789/us gallon)

Thats costing alot to fill up my truck.

Adding to my woes, I work at Canfor, which makes lumber. Right now, the housing market is in the basement, so we are cutting bakd to a 4 day week, with the threat of more downtime.

I do love my truck, but I can survive in a car as well. As we speak, I am trying to figure out, if need be, how I could get out of my lease, and into a mazda3, or a Civic.

It sucks, but you gotta do what you gotta do

In short, people are getting out of bigger vehicles, and moving to smaller ones. Thats just the way it is.

Just my .02, hope I didnt offend.

droopy · April 29, 2008

I also have to find a civic or something to drive to work and what not,but I will not sell my truck for this crap...I'm gonna enjoy my truck

fiero2m4 · April 29, 2008

Who is their right mind is going to purchase a pickup truck just to commute to work and back?

Surprisingly - I just did. Have had my Silverado WT (LS) for 4 weeks as of today. I do understand the gas price / mileage problem - but have only put 500 miles on it in the past month. Plus - with GMS, another $1000 off that and still use 0% / 60 in March plus a car to trade --- the timing work out on pricing. The utility I bought it for has already proven itself. If I was driving 40+ miles per day, I'd have kept the car...

gstephen · April 29, 2008

While I agree with all the above, I knew going in that the economy would suck, oil would go above $150 a barrel, and eventually our economy would run head first into a full blown recession. However, I don't drive to work. My truck is for pure pleasure. And by pleasure I mean getting in to a freshly detailed 6.0L on Friday afternoon and returning late Sunday, having gone through a tank of gas.

I guess if I had to drive to work everyday, my position would be different. For now, I still smile everytime I pull into the Sunoco station.

VMax2007 · April 29, 2008

Who is their right mind is going to purchase a pickup truck just to commute to work and back?

Surprisingly - I just did. Have had my Silverado WT (LS) for 4 weeks as of today. I do understand the gas price / mileage problem - but have only put 500 miles on it in the past month. Plus - with GMS, another $1000 off that and still use 0% / 60 in March plus a car to trade --- the timing work out on pricing. The utility I bought it for has already proven itself. If I was driving 40+ miles per day, I'd have kept the car...

Yep, 90% of the miles I put on my truck are commuting back and forth to work. The other 10% is towing my boat. Can't tow a boat with a car. I have done the math and even at $4/gal, it does not pay for me to have a commuter (3rd) car since I only drive about 12K miles/year. My wife's Impala get's used for everything else (errands, kid hauling, her commuter, etc, etc).

Just filled it up today....$3.60/gal for 92 Octane. $78 total. It will last me about 9-10 days.

Zembonez · April 29, 2008

Let's face it, the situation is dire.
Who is their right mind is going to purchase a pickup truck just to commute to work and back?

Sales are certainly not good for full sized vehicles. They may never be again.

BUT

The economy is not actually in real trouble. Economic numbers aren't even in any real recession except for a few hard hit spots in the country. The media likes to hammer the masses with gloom and doom anytime there is an upcoming presidential election. It happens every time. Doesn't matter if you like Republicans or Democrats. It just makes them feel important to tell us our country is going to hell.

The housing market is a totally self inflicted problem. Greed on the part of home buyers and sellers. Greed on the part of lenders. It was a balloon that had to pop... regardless of the economy. If you climb a tree and inch further and further out on a limb... your ass will fall sooner or later. The housing market does this again and again... about every 15 years.

The real culprit here is oil prices. Speculation in the market has created a FAKE impression that we are suddenly unable to produce enough. This is a total fabrication. There is little we can do about it currently... We can't even drill for our own oil here thanks to idiotic policies and we decided back in the 80s NOT to invest heavily in alternative energy (which we could be enjoying the benefits of about now).

Who's gonna buy a full sized pickup and use it to commute?

I will. I refuse to let the bastards win.

chitownpete · April 29, 2008

In several ways its good news. The value of our trucks wont drop as much as when the market is flooded with unsold new (rebated) trucks and it shows that GM is smart enough to change with the times instead of overproducing. Lets face it, alot of people dont really need these gas hogs, myself included.

ssmith6 · April 29, 2008

i understand the cutback too....i wish i could have slipped into something a little more gas friendly since gas is now $3.60/gal. I have had my truck for a month and a week now and have put 4200 miles on it. 4wd and a full size truck is required for my work for the stuff we haul and the places we have to go. I do get 50.5 cents a mile so it does help but this thing is worth every penny in itself and gets just as good of mileage and rides a hell of a lot better than my toyota tacoma prerunner. There will always be a market for them but i do see the demand cutting back for the people who by the z-71 4wds who just commute back and forth to work and never use them for other than pavement

droopy · April 29, 2008

i average between 2000 and 2500 miles a month,also 90% back and forth to work and to the mx track,the closest one is an hour away.So i would benefit from one.

Its still not that bad,the gas i put in my 4 wheeler is 12 bucks a gallon

d3athsong · April 29, 2008

The real culprit here is oil prices. Speculation in the market has created a FAKE impression that we are suddenly unable to produce enough.

At 22, i still have a lot to learn about a lot of things. But from everything i hear on the business news networks to neighbors, to my dad, that is exactly right. And ive seen the after effects recently, when certain oilseed prices went up and up and up with no explanation for it whatsoever. And then BAM, it dropped the limit day after day after day. When it finally gets a little too hot for those speculators to handle and the start bailing left and right, the price of oil will drop. Call me coldhearted, but i wont have much sympathy for that poor sob that gets too greedy and holds on too long.

And back to the topic at hand, its a great move. Why build more then you are going to sell?

shawnb123 · April 29, 2008

BUTThe economy is not actually in real trouble. Economic numbers aren't even in any real recession except for a few hard hit spots in the country. The media likes to hammer the masses with gloom and doom anytime there is an upcoming presidential election. It happens every time. Doesn't matter if you like Republicans or Democrats. It just makes them feel important to tell us our country is going to hell.The housing market is a totally self inflicted problem. Greed on the part of home buyers and sellers. Greed on the part of lenders. It was a balloon that had to pop... regardless of the economy. If you climb a tree and inch further and further out on a limb... your ass will fall sooner or later. The housing market does this again and again... about every 15 years.The real culprit here is oil prices. Speculation in the market has created a FAKE impression that we are suddenly unable to produce enough. This is a total fabrication. There is little we can do about it currently... We can't even drill for our own oil here thanks to idiotic policies and we decided back in the 80s NOT to invest heavily in alternative energy (which we could be enjoying the benefits of about now).Who's gonna buy a full sized pickup and use it to commute?I will. I refuse to let the bastards win.

I agree Zembonez. Contrary to popular belief, the sky Isn't really falling. The meda has to get you to watch their news or read their papers, so they prey on our fears. I'm sorry, but house prices were getting out of control anyway. Don't get me wrong, I'm thinking about taking the bus to work and just drive my vehicle on the weekends. I don't want to trade my gas-guzzler off and I really can't trade it off because I just installed $10,000 worth of equipment on it so I can load my power chair (electric wheelchair). I do have the 4.3 V6 in my Silverado, so the mileage is over 20 MPG on the highway. I just filled it up today and it cost $73, which is getting a little pricy for me. I can ride the bus for $20 a week & a tank of gas will last me for 2 weeks. I may not be saving anything by riding the bus. Taking the bus is a pain in the back side, since I have to wait on the stupid thing. It would also chapp my you-know-what since I'm such a redneck. This gas price thing won't last for ever, so I'll just wait it out. Here is a suggestion on gas prices. Maybe we should match our food prices with their high oil prices. Two can play that game.