The global semiconductor chip shortage has turned from a mild inconvenience to a serious problem, and it's heading towards a crisis. Hyundai thinks that it won't get any worse, but the problem has stopped production at Ford again, and General Motors has been feeling the effects too. In July, the problem affected the Cadillac Escalade, but we hadn't heard anything more about GM being impacted since then. Unfortunately, the wheel has turned again, with the result being that GM is forced to reduce production at most of its North American assembly plants this month, with Reuters reporting that GM's trucks and SUVs are the worst hit.

GM says that its Fort Wayne plant in Indiana and its Silao plant in Mexico will both halt production next week, but those are just two of eight North American assembly plants that will cut production this month. Its Wentzville plant in Missouri that builds midsize trucks and full-size vans will shut for two weeks beginning September 6, while the CAMI Assembly in Canada and the San Luis Potosi Assembly in Mexico - both of which build the Chevrolet Equinox - will also close for two more weeks. The Lansing Delta Township plant responsible for the Chevy Traverse and Buick Enclave will be shut for a fortnight too.

Additionally, the Spring Hill Tennessee plant responsible for the GMC Arcadia and Cadillac XT5 and XT6 will close for the same period while the Ramos plant in Mexico will stop producing the Blazer for two weeks and halt production of the Equinox (which hasn't seen any production since August 16) through the week of September 27. GM says that it will use the downtime to repair and ship unfinished vehicles from its various impacted assembly facilities.

As some commenters on social media have remarked, the impact of the east coast hurricane is going to make things even worse, as Americans are struggling to find new and used cars to buy as it is. Replacing flood-damaged cars is now going to be even more difficult.