U.S. Auto Industry Readies for More than 230 Maintenance Projects

Researched by Industrial Info Resources (Sugar Land, Texas)--With U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs in a constant state of flux, automotive body and part manufacturers are trying to find the best way to maintain efficiency amid an uncertain outlook for costs. Consistent maintenance could be part of the solution, to keep their existing facilities in the best possible working condition. Industrial Info is tracking more than 230 maintenance-related projects at automotive plants across the U.S. that are set to begin construction in the fourth quarter, about half of which are found in the Great Lakes region.

Click on the image at right for a graph detailing the top 10 parent companies for maintenance-related projects at U.S.-based automotive plants that are set to kick off from October from December, by total investment.

Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota City, Japan) accounts for more investment in fourth-quarter maintenance kickoffs than any other major auto company, including projects at three of its parts-manufacturing plants in Illinois: a five-day shutdown at its seat and door plant in Lawrenceville; a one-week shutdown at a plant in Carol Stream, which is managed by FIC America Corporation; and a one-week shutdown at a plant in Marion, which is managed by AISIN Manufacturing Illinois.

Toyota, a primary customer for FIC America and AISIN, is the parent company for the Carol Steam and Marion plants. Subscribers to Industrial Info's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) Industrial Manufacturing Project Database can learn more for detailed reports on the Lawrenceville, Carol Stream and Marion.

Among auto body manufacturers, Magna International Incorporated (Aurora, Ontario) trails only Toyota in its total investment in fourth-quarter maintenance starts, led by four projects at its stamping plants, which cut and mold metal sheeting into key auto parts. The four plants set for one-week maintenance projects are found in:

• Clinton, Tennessee; see project report
• Victor, Iowa; see project report
• Bowling Green, Ohio; see project report
• Birmingham, Alabama; see project report

Seetarama Kotagiri, the chief executive officer of Magna, said in a recent earnings-related conference call that the U.S. auto industry "continues to face a high degree of uncertainty as a result of the tariff and trade environment," but added his company was mitigating its problems: "Our estimate of annualized tariff exposure is reduced to approximately $200 million from approximately $250 million when we reported in Q1. We have settled with multiple OEMs [original equipment manufacturers] for substantially all of our 2025 net tariff exposure with them."

Parts manufacturers, on the other hand, received some relief from the Trump administration in May, when companies that comply with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) were exempted from the administration's 25% tariff. But federal authorities are believed to be pursuing a process to apply tariffs exclusively to any foreign-manufactured elements of these parts, so the relief could be temporary.

Among companies that specialize in auto parts, Tenneco (Northville, Michigan), a subsidiary of Apollo Asset Management (New York, New York), is planning several one-week shutdowns at some of its key facilities, including a shock absorber plant in Paragould, Arkansas, which produces about 83,000 units per day, and an exhaust muffler plant in Angola, Indiana. Subscribers can read detailed reports on the Paragould and Angola projects.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company (Akron, Ohio) has a slew of maintenance-related shutdowns on its docket, including four projects at tire-manufacturing plants, each scheduled to last one week. These projects are located in:

• Findlay, Ohio; see project report
• Lawton, Oklahoma; see project report
• Clarksdale, Mississippi; see project report
• Texarkana, Arkansas; see project report

Subscribers to Industrial Info's GMI Project and Plant databases can click here for a full list of detailed reports for projects mentioned in this article, and click here for a full list of related plant profiles.

Subscribers can click here for a full list of reports for maintenance-related projects at automotive plants across the U.S. that are set to begin construction in the fourth quarter.

Industrial Info Resources (IIR) is the leading provider of industrial market intelligence. Since 1983, IIR has provided comprehensive research, news and analysis on the industrial process, manufacturing and energy related industries. IIR's Global Market Intelligence (GMI) platform helps companies identify and pursue trends across multiple markets with access to real, qualified and validated plant and project opportunities. Across the world, IIR is tracking more than 200,000 current and future projects worth $17.8 trillion (USD).