Why Are We Seeing Less New Vehicles for Sale in Sedalia?

As you drive around Sedalia, I'm sure you've seen the low inventory of vehicles on the dealership lots. But it's not only in Sedalia but also in Missouri and across the nation.

One reason why you may not see some Ford and GM vehicles lining the front row of their respective dealerships is due to computers sales, well...kind of.

According to a story from the Kansas City Star, "A new car hasn’t rolled off the line of General Motors’ sprawling Kansas City, Kansas, factory in more than two months."

Some of the dealerships are experiencing delays because of the COVID-19 restrictions at the various automaker plants. For some it's been a problem due to transporting the new vehicles.

For a lot of Ford and GM vehicles, it's computer chips. When COVID-19 hit last April, many turned to purchasing new computers since they were going to spend more time at home for work and eLearning. Due to this upsurge in sales, the microprocessors that are used in vehicles, started to diminish in numbers. For many of the newer cars that are built at the Ford Claycomo plant and across the state line at the General Motors plant in Kansas City, Kansas, it's those computer chips that power the vehicles.

Both facilities has seen layoffs and production lines being shut down temporarily. In the story from kansascity.com,  UAW Local249 wrote on Facebook last week:

“We caution our members to be prepared for additional down weeks. These recent schedule changes have been coming with little to no advance notice.”