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DETROIT (AP) – As the United Auto Workers strike against General Motors begins in a second week, the company and striking workers are not the only ones to get caught.
With the closure of many spare parts stores, dealers are running out of components to repair cars, trucks and SUVs. And companies that manufacture auto parts are also starting to see a slowdown in their work. New dealer inventory is holding up, but is starting to run out on a few models.
Meanwhile, GM loses millions of dollars and has been forced to close a Canadian factory and send workers home. The 49,000 workers on strike will have to earn $ 250 a week in strike pay.
That does not even include the restaurants and other businesses of the more than 30 US factories shut down due to the strike. And the longer the strike, the worse for everyone.
The talks lasted late on Tuesday night and resumed Wednesday with the progress announced, said UAW spokesman Brian Rothenberg.
Here is an overview of the impact of the strike as bargaining continues:
AUTOMOTIVE PARTS: The most significant impact to date seems to be the lack of availability of certain spare parts for GM vehicles. The strike closed a parts depot in Charlotte, North Carolina, where the Southeast region is normally replaced, said Ed Williamson, owner of several GM dealers in the Miami area.
Parts suppliers, especially the smaller ones where GM is the primary customer, are also beginning to be affected, said David Whiston, Morningstar analyst. Even the largest, such as Magna International, a Canadian manufacturer of components for many GM models, report temporary layoffs in some of its operations in the United States and Canada.
GM spokesman Jim Cain has acknowledged the existence of some parts shortages, but says he still ships parts from depots with staff managed by management, dealers who stock parts for sale to other resellers and directly from suppliers who manufacture high volume parts. Cain said that if spare parts for a recall or warranty are not available, dealers will offer leased vehicles.
"Obviously, the situation is difficult and we are working to find other sources of parts in the country," he said.
INVENTORY OF DEALERS: GM had a sizeable stock of vehicles for 77 days at the end of August, but the big SUVs were only about 55 days old, which is lower at the average of the industry (61). .
Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Autotrader, said the dealers had told her that they would have enough stock for a week or so. Until now, sales in September have slowed compared to the month of August, so stocks are not exhausting as quickly, she said.
Williamson said he still owned many vehicles, including large SUVs such as the Cadillac Escalade and the GMC Yukon, with a capacity of 80 to 90 days. But he is short of mid-size SUV Cadillac XT5.
Itay Michalei, an analyst at Citi, estimates that GM is losing $ 100 million in profits a day. The strike has already pushed GM to fire 1,850 workers and close its assembly plant in Oshawa, Ontario, near Toronto. According to Unifor, the Canadian union of auto workers, another 730 people were fired from an engine plant located in St. Catherine's, Ontario.
Until now, GM has stated that no Mexican factory has been shut down, nor has a factory in Ontario that manufactures the compact Chevrolet Equinox SUV.
UAW WORKERS: Striking workers received their last GM paycheck last Friday and must now count on a $ 250 strike pay per week starting Friday. At work, most workers earn around $ 30 an hour, or about $ 1,200 a week. Whiston estimates that the work stoppage will cost the strike fund about $ 750 million from the AUW about $ 31.5 million a week in strike pay and health care costs .
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