Chrysler has announced that it will be shuttering its St. Louis plant indefinitely, effective July 10th. The Fenton, Missouri plant is one of seven Chrysler plants slated to reopen this month, but will be shuttered for good next month, “contingent upon volumes.” The St. Louis plant produces the Dodge Ram.
According to Chrysler’s statement, it will offer its St. Louis plant employees incentives to leave the factory and will also offer employment at other Chrysler plants. The plant will briefly open for operation on June 29th before being shut down on July 10th.
The St. Louis closure will leave Dodge with just two North American Ram production plants — Warren, Michigan and Saltillo, Mexico. The Warren plant will reopen as scheduled on June 29th, but Chrysler has yet to announce a reopen date for the Saltillo plant.
It remains unclear if there will be any production shifts as a result of the closure, but Chrysler could move some Ram 2500 production to the Warren plant. The St. Louis plant produces both the Ram 1500 and 2500 while the Warren plant currently only builds the 1500 model. The Saltillo plant produces the Ram 2500 and 3500, as well as other HD models.
All Chrysler plants will be idled during mid-July in order to re-tool the plants for the 2010 models.
According to Automotive News, Chrysler had 68,700 Rams in inventory as of June 1st – about a 115-day supply.
06/24, 5:47 PM
posted by:
JakeK66
Hate to say this – but I called it. Wasn’t even a month.
06/24, 6:18 PM
posted by:
leftwingagenda
ouch
06/24, 6:30 PM
posted by:
2WheeledSpeed
Yeah… No big surprise there.
06/24, 6:50 PM
posted by:
johnnycanuck
Still sucks.
06/24, 6:52 PM
posted by:
moparsalesman1
yeah sucks a big fat one
06/24, 7:15 PM
posted by:
RaineMan
Looks like that Ram is a load of bull.
06/25, 9:07 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
No loss. The Silverado and Sierra still remain Americas truck. Dodge has never been able to compete with the reliability , quality or dependibility of General Motors. Now that they are owned buy the Italians, they will now suffer the same anonymity and neglect that all other import trucks have gotten.
This is America. GM is Americas truck.
Good riddens Chrysler.
Buy American. Buy GM.
06/25, 11:23 AM
posted by:
SoTXFord
Last I checked the F-Series was the top selling vehicle, and therefor the top selling truck in the US. That would mean that the F-series was Americas truck, not the Silverado/Sierra…
06/25, 11:50 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
Combined sales of the Sierra and Silverado far exceed those of the F-150 pal. Ford trucks are OK but they lack the quality and reliability of a GM truck. They still lag way behiind in the engine dept. as well. Too many engine failures from the Triton, too many transmission failures, too many ball joint failures, steering, brakes, and rear end failures. GM trucks don’t have these issues which is why Americans trust GM to build the best and most respected trucks on the market.
AN American Revolution
06/25, 12:41 PM
posted by:
2WheeledSpeed
Oh please don’t spit out the ad lines at us…
If GM is such a great company, why are they bankrupt?
06/25, 2:53 PM
posted by:
teahead
Have you seen GM trucks lately? They suck balls.
interior is crap, engine is gutless, plain and ugly. I’ll buy a Ford before I buy a new Chevy truck, but the Dodge blows them both away.
06/25, 10:09 PM
posted by:
2WheeledSpeed
You better pray Fiat doesn’t screw with your beloved Ram…
06/26, 11:57 AM
posted by:
SoTXFord
NMOFGM: What are you smoking?
06/29, 10:14 AM
posted by:
Need more oil for GM
The only thing Dodge blows is smoke when you have another self-destruction of yet another POS hemi. They’re even more unreliable than the Triton! Americans have chosen for the past numerous decades. General Motors builds the best trucks in the world.
GM. AN American Revolution