Truckmaker Scania, part of Volkswagen's commercial vehicle arm, will halt production at its European truck plants this week due to the shortage of semi-conductors, it said today.
A global chip shortage during the past year has caused a major delay in manufacturing activity and forced several automakers to cut down on production.
Scania is pausing production at its truck plants in Sweden, France and the Netherlands for the whole week, a company spokesperson said.
"We are slowing down to a temporarily lower production volume," Scania press chief Karin Hallstan said, adding the company's South American plants will pause truck production next week.
"They are now keeping it up for a few days when we are holding back here in Europe," she said.
Delivery disruptions are currently affecting operations negatively at 70% of Swedish manufacturing companies, according to a survey published today by Silf/Swedbank.
16% of the companies have revised production plans downwards for the coming six months due to lack of material, according to the survey.
Geely-owned Volvo Cars announced last week that it will halt production at its Gothenburg plant during this week, and AB Volvo, a rival to Scania, warned last month of further production disruptions and stoppages.
Meanwhile, production at a Stellantis plant in Italy making light commercial vehicles will be halted next week due to a semiconductor shortage, a spokesperson for the carmaker said on Friday, confirming a trade union statement.
"I can confirm production at the Sevel plant will be suspended next week due to a shortage of chips from a supplier," the spokesperson said.
Carmakers, increasingly dependent on electronic components, face stiff competition from the consumer electronics industry for chip deliveries, hit by a series of supply chain disruptions during the health pandemic.
In July, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares warned the semiconductor shortage could drag into next year.
National union Fiom-Cgil said last week that it had been told the global electronic component shortage was about to impact other plants of the Stellantis group besides Pomigliano, starting with Sevel.
It said production at its Pomigliano site had been expected to restart but remained halted.
"It is clear the effects of this supply shortage could impact workers in all the other assembly plants like Melfi," the union said.
