This week's developments at Ford, GM, and suppliers reach parts availability, cost, and vehicle recalls.
American Axle strike enters second week, affecting driveline parts
A strike at American Axle/Dauch Corp.'s Three Rivers, Michigan, plant has entered its second week with no agreement reached. The plant produces axles and driveline parts that are used in factory assembly as well as in repair.
Its output covers several GM trucks, including the Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra, along with an actuator used in the Chrysler Pacifica. Roughly 1,000 UAW-represented workers walked off the job at 12:01 a.m. June 1 after the company and UAW Local 2093 failed to reach a new contract. Dauch said it is negotiating in good faith and hopes to reach an agreement.
Ford's USMCA push centers on the imported parts shops rely on
The trade deal Ford is pressing to reshape governs the same imported parts collision shops rely on. About 44% of OEM collision parts sold in the U.S. are manufactured overseas, and existing tariffs add roughly $100 to the parts line of an average repair order, according to PartsTrader. The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement is up for a joint review with a July 1 deadline, and that review could address rules covering components increasingly central to repair costs.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said June 8 that the automaker needs to import parts without punitive tariffs to keep building vehicles affordably in the United States. In March 2025, the Trump administration imposed 25% tariffs on all imported vehicles and auto parts. Ford was hit with a $2 billion tariff bill in 2025 and expects a similar cost this year; General Motors paid $3 billion and projects a comparable bill in 2026. Farley said Ford wants a level playing field in which competitors who do not comply with a revised agreement pay more.
U.S. negotiators are seeking 82% North American content in regionally built vehicles, with half of that value produced in the United States — a first-of-its-kind U.S.-specific requirement. The current agreement requires 75% North American content but no U.S.-specific threshold. Those duties have already moved parts prices: OEM retail prices rose 2.1% from the first to the second quarter of 2025, an acceleration attributed to Section 232 pass-through.
Recalls: Subaru moonroof glass and Ford seat belts
Subaru is recalling about 69,663 model-year 2026 Forester and Forester Hybrid SUVs. The power moonroof glass may have been bonded to the sliding frame without proper primer application, allowing the panel to detach while driving.
Ford is recalling roughly 419,000 2018-2022 Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs whose front seat belt pretensioners may inadvertently lock, preventing the belts from retracting or extending. The action expands two earlier recalls, and vehicles previously inspected will still need the updated remedy.
