HOLLAND, Mich. — Rows of cars ready to go home with someone the same day is a sight that Dominique DeNooyer appreciates.
“You're starting to see things transition a little bit more back to normal,” said DeNooyer, who co-owns DeNooyer Chevrolet in Holland. “Right now, we actually have vehicles in inventory. Before we were at a point with COVID, you might look at our lot and we might have three vehicles that are brand new.”
However, just as DeNooyer’s showroom and others across the country begin to recover from the supply chain problems caused by the pandemic, they could soon empty out again because of a possible United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against General Motors, Ford, and Stellantis.
An analysis released last month from Anderson Economic Group (AEG) predicted dealerships and customers may actually notice if a work stoppage happens, since car inventories hover around 55 days, which is one-fifth of the supply on hand during the last strike in 2019.
DeNooyer acknowledged the problem, but says COVID increased people’s patience. He thinks they would wait to get their perfect vehicle.
“The deals are still going to be there,” said DeNooyer. “The availability, if the strike goes on 30, 60, 90 days, has obviously a growing impact.”
He added, “If there's a strike and there's a 30 or 60 day shutdown, that's going to be tacked on essentially to when the order will actually arrive, and people are really understanding of that. Honestly, it's faster than it was during the peak COVID days. We might have been six months to a year, so it's like, ‘Hey, instead of 10 weeks, you're looking at maybe 14 weeks.’”
DeNooyer worries about a lack of components during a strike. He says the dealership has ordered extra engines, transmissions, and more to try and mitigate any disruptions.
“We bought an extra $100,000 plus worth of parts, because we're like, ‘Hey, we know we're going to sell these eventually, in the next three to six months,’” said DeNooyer. “We want our clientele to be able to come in if something goes wrong with their car [and] we can fix it.”
Another study from the University of Michigan found a strike’s impact on inventory levels “could be severe,” but economists believe that automakers can adjust production schedules and dealer inventories to lessen impacts.
The report added researchers think increases in domestic production will cushion a work stoppage’s impact on sales to some extent.
DeNooyer hopes customers experience few issues if a strike happens.
“Keeping an open mind and being patient,” said DeNooyer. “When you look at things, those are things that need to happen in the economy… Employers need to be in a position that they can invest in new products, and they need to have some margin. Employees [are] very valuable as well [and they] deserve to have a competitive wage and good working conditions.”
