Auto Fastener Suppliers Watched UAW Strike

Jason Sandefur

The United Auto Workers ended a national strike against General Motors after two days. The strike could have had an immediate impact on fastener suppliers who make up a supply chain ruled by JIT delivery schedules.
“The automotive companies have the supply chain as tight as possible, so (a slowdown) in orders could be fairly instant,” Scott Sommers of washer manufacturer Freeway Rockford Inc. told the Rockford Register Star. “If you were a company that relied heavily on GM, it could hurt quite dramatically.”
Industry analysts had predict a strike that lasted a few weeks could have cost GM billions of dollars. The strike, which involved 73,000 workers at 80 GM facilities, could have cost the automaker about 12,200 vehicles per day, according to the auto forecasting firm CSM Worldwide. �2007 FastenerNews.com