Auto Manufacturers

(This paper was originally written at the end of 2021.)

If you drive past any auto dealership you’ll notice that the country is experiencing a shortage of new cars. This has been going on since the Coronavirus pandemic, and it doesn’t appear to be getting better anytime soon. New car orders are delayed for over a year and used car purchase prices have skyrocketed. Like everything else in our environment, it doesn’t make sense.

We’ve been told that there is a global shortage of microchips. If that is true, why aren’t we seeing media reports of laid-off union auto workers? Why aren’t we seeing media reports of auto manufacturers losing money due to a lack of sales? It doesn’t make sense that auto manufacturers are building new cars and allowing them to sit for months, or years, while waiting for the chips to become available. If they are, where are new cars being stored while they depreciate?

Is it possible that auto workers aren’t out of work and manufacturers aren’t losing profits? What exactly are they manufacturing?

According to the United Auto Workers union, there are currently 400,000 UAW workers in the US, Canada, and Puerto Rico.

While some may argue that the current lack of workers willing to work has affected the auto workers union, consider that Federal unemployment benefits ended early September 2021. In addition, union auto workers aren’t typically known for their unwillingness to work. While unemployment numbers are still higher than before the pandemic, they continue to drop.  

We’ve been told the cause of the new vehicle shortage is due to a global microchip shortage due to COVID-19 related issues, as well as weather and fire related issues to microchip processing plants in Austin, TX and overseas. However, the more articles you read, the more excuses you’ll find to explain the shortage.

In a June 3, 2021, article titled, Car Dealerships Nationwide Experiencing Empty Car Lots, the author says that dealerships are facing an inventory shortage because there is a lack of microchips being produced that are needed to run a vehicle. Car manufacturers have cars fully built and ready to send to dealerships, but because of the microchip backlog, the vehicles cannot be completed. This implies that fully completed cars are sitting in lots depreciating in value while waiting on a microchip.

In The Global Microchip Shortage, Explained – and What it Means for Your Next Car Purchase, published in The Drive on May 13, 2021, the microchip shortage is described as perhaps the most devastating supply chain disruption the auto industry has seen in decades – maybe ever. Ford anticipated a shortage of between 200,000 and 400,000 units, however, it later adjusted its estimate to show that it could be short as many as 1.1 million vehicles throughout 2021. Despite this, they posted a $3.26 billion profit in the first quarter.

Although microchips may be the cause of the new car shortage, could something else be going on? Are we being distracted from questioning why new car lots are virtually empty of new cars? Should we disregard our instincts and blindly accept the story that is being told to us?

According to Forbes.com, on March 18, 2020, President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act in response to the Coronavirus pandemic. The reason for doing so was a need for personal protection equipment, masks, and ventilators. General Motors was one of the companies in the news at that time as being tasked with manufacturing ventilators.

The Forbes article estimates that 960,000 coronavirus patients may need to use a ventilator. Almost two years into the pandemic, it is difficult to believe that that many ventilators were manufactured and used. A “surprising fact” in the article is that a day before the act was used on GM, Trump mentioned he had used it on two minor occasions, but he didn’t elaborate. Forbes speculates that Trump may have been referring to price gouging and hoarding of supplies, but that is only speculation.

Is it possible that President Trump invoked the Defense Production Act (DPA) to compel US corporations to manufacture things other than ventilators and medical equipment?

According to Fishbowl.com, “The President may choose to enact the DPA for defense or to assist with an emergency…Under the DPA, entire supply chains can be commanded to shift toward providing essential supplies and coordinating their distribution to high-need areas.” In addition, “if the continutiy of government is in jeopardy, the President may put the DPA into effect to demand that domestic companies manufacture weapons of defense for the armed forces.” The continuity of government statement fits nicely with the Devolution Series by Patel Patriot. Are U.S. auto and microchip manufacturers rebuilding our military?

President Trump said on more than one occasion that we are “at war” and he is a wartime President. If you understand Trump, you know that you cannot take anything he says at face value. Invoking the Defense Production Act for ventilators and pivoting to matters of national security is something that is not difficult to believe. In fact, Trump has made many statements over the years that he would not announce his intentions so that our enemies would be aware of our military’s actions in advance.

During President Obama’s eight years in office, there were several stories of our depleted military and its aging equipment.

In a March 25, 2016, Popular Mechanics article, House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-TX) mentioned that he heard a story about marines scrounging for parts for an F/A-18 at a museum. Chairman Thornberry used the story to illustrate a point about our declining military readiness. It was a well-known fact that our military supplies were antiquated and obsolete.

According to The Washington Times, the October 20, 2021, Heritage Foundation annual report titled, Executive Summary of the 2022 Index of U.S. Strength states, “As currently reported, the U.S. military continues to be only marginally able to meet the demands of defending America’s vital national interests.” The Times article goes on to state “The U.S. Military is too small to do the jobs it is being assigned and is burdened with equipment that has been worn out from two decades of fighting in Iran and Afghanistan.” In addition, the article states that the report “offers a stark analysis of where the nation’s armed forces stand as aggressive rivals such as China and Russia are rebuilding their forces at a breakneck pace.”

Trump was aware of and concerned with the state of our military and took steps to address it. Early on in his presidency, on July 17, 2017, Trump issued Executive Order 13806, “Assessing and Strengthening the Manufacturing and Defense Industrial Base and Supply Chain Resiliency of the United States.”

This EO required that within 270 days of its issuance, a report was due to the President. That report was issued on October 5, 2018, titled under the same name.

I will admit that I did not read all 146 pages of the report, but skimming through it and doing a search on the word “auto” produced the following results which I found interesting:

·       Wheeled combat service support vehicles are considered a defense-unique product, but the industrial base supporting this sub sector is highly dependent on commercial automotive technology and production capabilities. (Emphasis added) Two domestic suppliers dominate tactical wheeled vehicle manufacture, but there are multiple qualified vendors for the repair, refurbishment, and modifications business. (pg. 69)

·       Industrial facilities are not readily available to produce, the workforce is limited, and competition for common supply chain products and other materials would require prioritization across the ground vehicle supply chain as well as across services. (pg. 70)

Obviously, this report needs more investigation, but it clearly states that commercial automotive technology and production capabilities are needed for wheeled combat service support vehicles.

Security clearance and confidentiality is an obvious problem. If auto workers are producing parts for military equipment, we might assume they would be discussing their work on social media or some other outlet. But what if they don’t understand exactly what they are manufacturing?

A December 31, 2021, GM Authority article highlights GM’s acquisition of 53 acres in Brookville, Ohio, adjacent to the DMAX diesel facility. This article discusses how machine diesel engine components are first produced in Brookville, then shipped to a second facility located in Moraine, then the Moraine facility uses the complements to produce new diesel engines, which are then shipped from Moraine to GM’s assembly plant in Flint, Michigan. What if the automakers are manufacturing components that are shipped from one facility to another, and the final product is shipped to military bases where they are assembled and completed?

Of course, upper management and the auto manufacturers would be aware of the changes to their manufacturing, and the report issued in response to EO 13806 addresses Security Clearances. The report states, “ongoing challenges face DoD and its suppliers in getting personnel cleared to work on classified projects or in classified spaces. Concerns about the integrity of the investigation process coupled with diminished resources have created an ever-growing backlog of employees waiting for clearances. However, a major effort is underway to address the issue…The system will be founded on an advanced analytic and sound risk assessment to serve as key capabilities, ensuing a timely, trustworthy, loyal, and reliable workforce clearance process.”

An October 4, 2018, article in Defense News titled, White House Warned of a Domestic Extinction of Suppliers in Industrial Base Report – and DoD is Ready to Help with Cash, includes examples of weak spots in the defense industrial base, largely in the lower-tier suppliers who make parts that go unnoticed on large military systems. The Departments of Defense, Energy, and Labor submitted a classified document recommending potential fixes to deal with 300 individual weak points of concern. Could U.S. auto manufacturers be included in that report as possible solutions to some of the weak spots?

In addition to US auto manufacturers working under the DPA to rebuild our military capacity, it may be possible that microchip manufacturers are doing the same. If a car requires hundreds of microchips, imagine how many a piece of military equipment would require. If microchip manufacturers are prioritizing production of microchips for military use, it’s easy to understand why other areas are experiencing a shortage.

If there is one thing we’ve learned over the last several years, it is that we should question everything. We are told that there is a shortage of new vehicles because of a microchip shortage due to COVID (which is the universal excuse for everything that doesn’t make sense), yet I can’t help but question this because it doesn’t make sense to me.

To further justify my suspicion, the Drive.com posted an article on September 20, 2021, titled Five B21 Raider Stealth Bombers are now in Final Assembly. The entire article is interesting, but the first and last paragraphs validate my point. First:

“The U.S. Air Force now has no fewer than five examples of its secretive Northrop Grumman B-21 Raider stealth bomber in a process of final assembly. That’s three more airframes that we knew about before today and further indication that new flying-wing bomber is making significant progress, albeit well away from the public gaze.” (Emphasis added).

In other words, our military is building and assembling B-21 stealth bombers without anyone knowing about it. And last:

“In other words, this should be an incredibly remarkable weapon system. Yet for some, being able to survive in enemy airspace won’t be what impresses them the most about it; developing it on budget and on schedule and producing it in large numbers will.” (Emphasis added).

Are U.S. companies rebuilding our military away from the public eye?

In a September 19, 2017, post on Newser.com, President Trump is quoted discussing the military parade he witnessed in Paris on Bastille Day. He said, “It was one of the greatest parades I have ever seen…Because of what I witnessed we may do something like that on July 4^th in Washington, down Pennsylvania Avenue.” Will we have our own military parade someday showcasing our newly manufactured military might? I hope so. After all…

The best is yet to come!