The Detroit 3, which had been considering various target dates, said they will now resume building autos May 18.
The state’s decision was quickly lauded by the industry, since Michigan’s supply base holds the key to automotive pipelines around the country.
“We needed to have this kind of plan in place that allowed specific parts of the supply chain to begin working prior to when the automotive companies began their manufacturing so the supply chain would be full,” said Julie Fream, CEO of the Original Equipment Suppliers Association, a supplier trade group.
Fream’s organization, which had pleaded with Whitmer at the end of April to allow parts factories to start running at least five days before automakers restart their own production, is now appealing to lawmakers in other states that are restricting manufacturing over pandemic concerns.
“It’s difficult to build vehicles when you’re missing one key critical component,” Fream said.
Meanwhile, the production restart in China and a surge in vehicle sales there is helping many manufacturers prepare for their restart in the U.S. and around the globe.
General Motors CEO Mary Barra said in a call with investors last week that she saw early successes in China as a sign that production can safely resume throughout the globe.
GM plans to implement employee protection protocols in all of its U.S. plants as they reopen.
“Where our coronavirus safety protocols have been in place, we have not seen a confirmed case of community spread in our facilities,” Barra said.
Despite the eager attitude, automakers are likely to encounter pain points with smaller suppliers farther down the supply chain, warned Dave Andrea, automotive principal at Plante Moran.
“It’s not just your assembly plant and supply chain ramping up,” Andrea told Automotive News. “We will find the pinch points where supply chains intersect two or three levels down in the chain.”
