On Thursday, June 9, production at Hyundai’s largest South Korean plant fell by half. Factory operations have slowed down due to a truckers’ strike, which risks dealing another blow to an already beleaguered global supply chain.
Representatives of the Hyundai trade union said that the company’s plant in Ulsan is operating at 50-60 percent of the normal rate due to difficulties with the purchase of spare parts, Automotive News reports. The automaker typically produces about 6,000 vehicles a day at the factory, including the Genesis and Ioniq 5 models.
The shortage was caused by a strike, as a result of which thousands of truckers stopped working in protest against rising fuel prices. However, this action also slowed down activity in ports, as a result of which some manufacturers were left without the necessary parts in production.
In the port of Ulsan, the industrial center where most of the strikes took place, the movement of containers has been completely stopped since Tuesday. In Busan, which accounts for 80 percent of container traffic in South Korea, the volume of traffic decreased by two-thirds compared to normal levels.
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“This leads to disruptions in the entire industry of South Korea, from cars and electronics to semiconductor companies. These production disruptions in South Korea could have global consequences.”
Hyundai, in particular, is looking for alternative modes of transport to deliver components to its factories and organize deliveries of cars.