Just when things were finally beginning to get back on track for General Motors' light-duty and heavy-duty pickup trucks, another production pause is about to begin. The Detroit Free Press has confirmed with the automaker that it will idle production at the three plants that build the Chevy Silverado 1500, GMC Sierra 1500 and HD variants of both starting next Monday for one week's time.

The reason shouldn't be hard to figure out. A lack of semiconductor chips is the culprit but GM is determined to resume full truck production on August 16. The three affected plants are Flint Assembly in Michigan, Fort Wayne Assembly in Indiana, and Silao Assembly in Mexico.

Last week, GM proudly announced that truck production was finally back to its normal schedule. This came at the expense of midsize SUVs like the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave. Like every automaker, GM has limited chip supplies and must conserve them for its most profitable vehicles, in this case, trucks.

"The global semiconductor shortage remains complex and very fluid," said a GM spokesman. "The recent scheduling adjustments have been driven by temporary parts shortages caused by semiconductor supply constraints from international markets experiencing Covid-19-related restrictions."

GM also confirmed production will continue to be idled at a few additional plants for varying lengths of time.

The good news is that production will finally restart at the Spring Hill Assembly facility in Tennessee and Ramos Assembly in Mexico this coming Monday for the first time since July 19. Popular models such as the Cadillac XT4, GMC Acadia, and Chevy Blazer are among those built there.

Everyone knows this lack of chips situation cannot last forever but relief isn't expected to arrive until sometime next year. Because of this, production is expected to be delayed (again) for the refreshed 2022 model year Silverado and Sierra. Both were originally set to debut for 2021 but very unfortunate circumstances prevented this.