COVID mandate protests in Canada are starting to affect U.S. automakers

COVID mandate¹ protests in Canada are starting to affect U.S. automakers

Transcript³

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Michelle Krebs, executive analyst⁴ at Cox Automotive, about how the Canadian trucker protests could impact the auto² industry — in addition to previous supply chain issues.

RACHEL MARTIN, HOST:

So the busiest border crossing between the U.S. and Canada is blockaded by semitrucks, which presents another challenge for the Biden administration. Here's White House spokesperson Jen Psaki.

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JEN PSAKI: The Ambassador Bridge is Canada's busiest link to the United States and accounts for about 25% of trade between the two countries. And so the blockade poses a risk to supply chains for the auto industry because the bridge is a key conduit for motor vehicles, components⁵ and parts. And delays risk disrupting auto production.

MARTIN: The White House says it's in contact with customs teams on both sides of the border to divert some of the traffic. It's also talking to automakers to figure out how the blockade is affecting them. The auto industry has already been hit by supply chain issues because of the pandemic, so the border blockade adds insult to injury.

Michelle Krebs is executive analyst at Cox Automotive, and she joins us from Troy, Mich. Hey, Michelle.

MICHELLE KREBS: Good morning.

MARTIN: So first COVID, now this. If we thought as consumers that it was hard to buy a car before, then is it about to get a whole lot tougher?

KREBS: I think it depends on how long this lasts. But clearly, this could not have happened at a worse time. We have very little - anybody who's been shopping for a car knows that the - there's no inventory⁶ on dealership⁷ lots, and now with any kind of production disruption makes that even worse.

MARTIN: And that initial lack of cars on those lots - I mean, it has to do with the ongoing⁸ issue of chip shortages, right?

KREBS: That's right. I mean, it was very severe last year. We think it's starting to improve. But there have been - there are still production cuts taking place because of a lack of computer chips and now the lack of parts that can't cross the border.

MARTIN: Right. So Ford⁹ says it's looking at flying some parts to a plant in Windsor, Ontario, which is on the other side of the bridge from Detroit. Is that what we're likely to see - flying parts where they need to get to?

KREBS: We are seeing a little bit of that, and we see that on occasion when things happen. General Motors has a plant near Toronto. It apparently¹⁰ is flying parts in, too. But that's not practical on a long-term basis. It's expensive. It's - you can't do a lot of big parts. And the other thing that's complicating¹¹ this is plants run on a just-in-time inventory basis, so they don't keep a lot of parts in the plants.

MARTIN: So why? I mean - so this just-in-time model seems to make the industry really vulnerable when things - these externalities happen that it doesn't have any control over.

KREBS: Well, except when it's running well, it saves costs. It saves room in plants. And it is much more efficient. It was developed in Japan. Toyota has used it. But it is vulnerable to these kind of hiccups¹², as we saw with the chip shortage and as we are seeing with the trucker blockade.

MARTIN: So the pandemic pointed¹³ out these issues with supply chains, as we have talked about. Now we've got this blockade happening as a result of the demonstrations¹⁴ in Canada. Are there larger lessons that the industry can take from these issues that have happened that have really created these follow-on effects that have been devastating¹⁵?

KREBS: Well, I think definitely they learned from the chip shortage that there are certain components, especially those that come from far away to - that maybe a stockpile of them would not be a bad idea. Toyota did that early in the game, although now it's in a position where it's very low on them. But, you know, something like this truck blockade - that came out of nowhere. And I don't know how they could possibly plan for that.

MARTIN: Have you talked to anyone in the auto industry in Canada about how it's affecting them and any plants that might be on the border?

KREBS: Oh, well, we are hearing definitely it's affecting plants there. In the city of Windsor, which is right across the from the Ambassador Bridge, it's having a tremendous economic effect. I watched the press conference with the mayor and some business executives. Thirty-five percent of the jobs there are related to the auto industry. So the impact is very significant there.

MARTIN: Michelle Krebs, executive analyst at Cox Automotive, thank you.

KREBS: Thank you.

1 mandate   

n.托管地；命令，指示

参考例句：

• The President had a clear mandate to end the war.总统得到明确的授权结束那场战争。
• The General Election gave him no such mandate.大选并未授予他这种权力。

2 auto   

n.(=automobile)(口语)汽车

参考例句：

• Don't park your auto here.别把你的汽车停在这儿。
• The auto industry has brought many people to Detroit.汽车工业把许多人吸引到了底特律。

3 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

4 analyst   

n.分析家，化验员；心理分析学家

参考例句：

• What can you contribute to the position of a market analyst?你有什么技能可有助于市场分析员的职务？
• The analyst is required to interpolate values between standards.分析人员需要在这些标准中插入一些值。

5 components   

（机器、设备等的）构成要素，零件，成分； 成分( component的名词复数 )； [物理化学]组分； [数学]分量； （混合物的）组成部分

参考例句：

• the components of a machine 机器部件
• Our chemistry teacher often reduces a compound to its components in lab. 在实验室中化学老师常把化合物分解为各种成分。

6 inventory   

n.详细目录，存货清单

参考例句：

• Some stores inventory their stock once a week.有些商店每周清点存货一次。
• We will need to call on our supplier to get more inventory.我们必须请供应商送来更多存货。

7 dealership   

n.商品特许经销处

参考例句：

• The car dealership has a large inventory of used cars. 这家汽车经销商拥有数量庞大的二手车。
• A key to this effort is the experience in the dealership. 达到这个成果的关键是销售的体验。

8 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

9 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

10 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

11 complicating   

使复杂化( complicate的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• High spiking fever with chills is suggestive of a complicating pylephlebitis. 伴有寒战的高热，暗示合并门静脉炎。
• In America these actions become executive puberty rites, complicating relationships that are already complicated enough. 在美国，这些行动成了行政青春期的惯例，使本来已经够复杂的关系变得更复杂了。

12 hiccups   

n.嗝( hiccup的名词复数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿v.嗝( hiccup的第三人称单数 )；连续地打嗝；暂时性的小问题；短暂的停顿

参考例句：

• I cannot find a rhyme to "hiccups". 我不能找到和hiccups同韵的词。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Can we rhyme 'hiccups'with 'pick-ups'? 我们能把‘hiccups’同‘pick－ups’放在一起押韵吗？ 来自辞典例句

13 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

14 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

15 devastating   

adj.毁灭性的，令人震惊的，强有力的

参考例句：

• It is the most devastating storm in 20 years.这是20年来破坏性最大的风暴。
• Affairs do have a devastating effect on marriages.婚外情确实会对婚姻造成毁灭性的影响。