The serious flooding in southern Brazil, are beginning to have an impact on different activities in Argentina. This is happening with at least one national car factory, the one that has Fiat in Ferreyra, Córdoba, where the Fiat Cronos is produced as the only model. Sources of Stellantis Argentina They confirmed that this week’s production plans are being readjusted due to the logistical consequences caused by the climate phenomenon.
The plant had already stopped production last weektaking advantage of the fact that there was one less working day on May 1, and although it served to recover stock of parts, there were additionally other operational reasons that have to do with future projects such as the manufacture of the Fiat Titano medium pick-upwhich required stopping the production lines to adapt it to such purposes.
A similar process occurred in July 2023 with the Palomar plant where the Peugeot 208 is manufactured, which had to be conditioned to receive the recently announced Peugeot 2008 that is already produced. The same sources indicated that for the moment production has not been affected in that February 3 party industrial center where brand vehicles are produced. Peugeot and Citroën.
Other terminals have not had to stop their production, they are all pending the situation in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, epicenter of the region most affected by climatic conditions and an almost obligatory passage by land to Argentina. “This week we have no impact on our production due to the floods in Brazil. The situation is being monitored as conditions are expected to worsen.due to the destruction of routes that is happening throughout that region of Brazil,” they indicated from an automotive company.
Although all terminals have a production scheme because the stock of spare parts and auto parts They do not go directly to the production lines but to a “Buffer” which manages according to demand, this component buffer has been reduced to a minimum in the last year due to problems to authorize imports that the automotive industry suffered.
This is how several plants had to start working with “short stock” of no more than five days, which meant that every Monday an industrial forecast was made for that week, and once production was guaranteed, work began for the following week.
“This had never happened before. Plants generally have a materials forecast for a whole month, but in 2023 we had to create new teams, with many more human resources that monitored each component and followed up on it until it arrived at our factory. When a vital part is missing, which prevents you from manufacturing a car because even if it is incomplete it cannot be left outdoors, you have to stop the entire line. Missing windshields is not the same as missing stereo.”commented an executive from a terminal to Infobae.
Although this year, since the implementation of the BOPREALdebts with foreign suppliers have been channeled towards a secure payment method, that is in the future in most cases, so that Nor could it be purchased more merchandise than necessary. to produce in these first months of 2024. Although imports are released, inputs and finished auto parts are purchased with four payments equal to 30, 60, 90 and 120 daysand with the 25% drop in sales from January to April, it is not a safe investment to buy extra components if you do not know what the production of each brand will be.
“So, it could be said that we acquired gymnastics last year, allowing us to face this moment with more tools to resolve it, because they are also issues of logistics and not payments as they were. But no one is caring more. And what that implies is that in the face of a problem like this, the stock is very low. It lasts a few days but not as many as would be ideal,” they added.
This exercise of maintaining vital components in sufficient quantity to avoid having to stop the plants, is not only necessary to ensure production for local sale and exports, but also to not lose money.
“When manufacturing is suddenly stopped, there are many costs that cannot be avoided. It is preferable to decide to stop production a week before, that way the factory is not opened, money is not spent on own costs, nor are expenses incurred for suppliers. Today, logistics costs are very high and are calculated as finitely as possible. The savings range from “Do not turn on the lights until you open the dining room and supply it with food.”they explained from another automotive terminal.
