Found this: Chip shortage not affecting Jeep production in Toledo

[Medvedia]

The global semiconductor chip shortage hasn’t slowed down production of Jeeps in Toledo, even as factories worldwide have had to cut production and prioritize chip shipments.
The shortage, which began as automakers decreased orders of vehicle parts while the coronavirus pandemic presented a number of challenges to production and sales, could cost the auto industry $110 billion in 2021, according to a prediction from consulting firm AlixPartners. But the shortage has had “no impact on production in Toledo,” Stellantis spokesman Jodi Tinson said. “Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry.” The Toledo Assembly Complex that produces the Jeep Wrangler SUV and Gladiator midsize pickup will take previously scheduled downtime this week to perform general maintenance. The automaker last week said Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois will be down through July 26, the day it officially is cutting the second shift at the plant that assembles the Jeep Cherokee crossover. The week of July 19 is a previously scheduled down week. Bernard Swiecki, director of research at the Ann Arbor, Mich.-based Center for Automotive Research, said though he doesn’t have “plant-level visibility” on decisions being made at companies, securing and funneling chips to the company’s best-selling vehicles “makes sense,” he said. “What we’ve seen the industry do, is prioritize the products that are most critical to the bottom line,” Mr. Swiecki said. “What determines what’s most critical to the bottom line is comprised of myriad factors. One, those products tend to be trucks or [sport] utilities, they have higher transaction value, larger window-sticker prices. And the automaker tends to make a bigger margin on those than they do for example on passenger vehicles.” Secondly, Mr. Swiecki contends, is that automakers have more “pricing power” on vehicles that are newer in the showroom, such as the Jeep Gladiator. “Essentially what you have is a prioritization that’s happening, and what it’s doing is, it’s having a very pronounced total effect on the market,” Mr. Swiecki said. “So the way that we’re seeing that shake out is, increasing transaction values on vehicles. People are just paying more because it’s a supply-and-demand issue.” Last month, Ford announced it had cut production at eight plants, including six in the United States, as it battled the ongoing chip shortage. But Wednesday, the company received a new batch of chips that it will install into thousands of F-series trucks that had been put together and were waiting for chips to arrive. “We’re working to get chips into F-Series pickups and get them out to dealers. That’s our first priority,” Erich Merkle, a U.S. sales analyst at Ford, said. “We’ll see our inventories improve. It’ll take time but stock will gradually start to improve the second half of the year.” Mr. Merkle added that Ford’s inventory was at “record lows” right now. Brands like Jeep that push out SUVs and pickup trucks will be positioned to benefit from the prioritization, Mr. Swiecki said. During the fourth quarter of 2020, Jeep Gladiator sales were up 23 percent (20,552 vehicles), a bright spot during a difficult year. The Gladiator’s year-end total of 77,542 sales was also 94 percent ahead of 2019 when the Gladiator was introduced during the springtime. “It will help every brand that is well positioned in terms of truck and utility offerings, which of course, that’s what Jeep does,” he said. “At the local level, that practice of prioritizing the utilities and pickups is also good for the communities that host the plants that make those vehicles. And the opposite is true for cities and towns that have car plants.” Adding insult to injury for struggling car manufacturers is the fact that shortages aren’t limited to semiconductor chips. The pandemic has also caused shortages in petrochemicals, and even materials like rubber, Mr. Swiecki said. “Right now, there isn’t a clear point in time when we expect this to be resolved,” he added. “That’s the other challenge. It’s difficult to plan.”

[Mitchleysid]

I see it’s been a while since this topic was discussed, but I’m curious if anyone has noticed any recent changes in availability or production delays. Have things improved, or are there still supply issues affecting orders and deliveries? Also, for those who got their Jeeps during this time, did you notice anything different in features or options compared to previous models?

[Deekweerap]

I read somewhere that one big issue with chip shortages is wafer processing delays. If there’s a bottleneck at that stage, it slows everything down before chips even make it to manufacturers. Jeep might have better supplier deals or use chips that aren’t as affected by these delays. Some factories also prioritize certain vehicles, so maybe Toledo has been lucky in that sense.

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