Info on ChryslerPARTS SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES: Speaking a week before Chrysler announced bankruptcy and GM announced stepped-up plans to shed dealers and phase-out Pontiac, John Bosin of the Collision Industry Conference (CIC) Parts Committee said last month that the automaker's financial instability doesn't appear to be directly impacting the collision parts supply chain.Bosin said every automaker the committee spoke with reported "more parts availability and the fewest back-orders they've ever had," in part because the drop in new car production has resulted in more parts for the replacement market. If shops are experiencing any parts availability issues, Bosin said, it's likely because of another struggling segment of the OEM parts supply chain: dealerships. With only 9-11 million new car sales expected this year (compared to 16.1 million in 2007 and even 13.2 million last year), another 1,200 to 1,500 of the nation's remaining 20,000 dealerships are expected to close in 2009. "I actually think that's probably a low estimate," Bosin said. "And probably the biggest issue if you've had a problem getting OEM parts is the number of dealers who are on COD (with the automakers). So where in the past you may have gotten parts the same day or the next day, and all of a sudden it's taking a few more days, there's a good chance it's a COD issue." Bosin said the automakers are also keeping an eye on the solvency of their suppliers and "all have detailed contingency plans in place." Those plans may get tested based on announcements made since Bosin's presentation at CIC. GM's 9-week production halt and Chrysler's shut-down of its plants until it is out of bankruptcy is expected to doom at least some already-struggling Tier 2 and 3 suppliers. And Toyota, long a proponent of getting parts to its plants "just in time," has started stockpiling parts out of concern about its suppliers.
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