Production at Hyundai’s largest South Korean plant fell by half on Thursday. The factory was slowed down by a strike by truckers that risked another blow to an already disrupted global supply chain.
Union officials at Hyundai say the company’s Ulsan plant is working at 50 to 60 percent of what it normally does due to equipment procurement difficulties, Automotive News reported. Automakers typically make about 6,000 cars a day at the plant, including the Genesis and Ionic 5 models.
The shortfall is due to a strike in which thousands of trucks have been shut down in protest of rising fuel prices. The action, however, has also slowed activity at ports, leaving some manufacturers without the necessary supplies.
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In the port for Ulsan, an industrial center where most strikes have taken place, container traffic has been completely shut down since Tuesday. In Busan, which accounted for 80 percent of South Korea’s container activity, traffic was two-thirds below normal.
This leads to barriers for all of South Korea’s industries, from car and electronics to semiconductor makers that control both. With supply lines already struggling due to slow production in China and Russian aggression in Ukraine, this production disruption in South Korea could have a global impact.
Hyundai, in particular, is looking for alternative means of transportation to bring goods to its factory. Kia employees, meanwhile, have been seen driving newly manufactured cars to warehouses on the streets. It is unknown at this time what he will do after leaving the post.
