Global Trade
16 July 2025
GM pauses production at Mexico plant amid broader tariff concerns
Written by Stephanie Ritenbaugh
General Motors is pausing production for several weeks at its assembly complex in Silao, Mexico, where it makes propulsion systems and pickup trucks.
The news was first reported by Reuters and later confirmed by GM to Aluminum Market Update.
The facility manufactures the Chevrolet Silverado, Chevrolet Cheyenne, and GMC Sierra pickup trucks. It was down for the first two weeks of July, and it is scheduled to be idled again the weeks of Aug. 4 and Aug. 11, Reuters reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
“Scheduled down weeks at GM Silao are part of a standard operating process focused on optimizing production at our manufacturing complex,” a GM spokesperson told AMU. They declined to elaborate or confirm the precise timeline.
From castings and rolled sheet to billet and extrusions, the auto industry is aluminum’s biggest downstream customer in North America.
The pause at Silao comes after Ford Motor Group, General Motors, and Stellantis pulled full-year guidance amid growing concerns over auto parts tariffs.
Tariffs are already having an impact on build rates in North America, according to AMU’s parent company, CRU Group.
“In North America, tariffs are beginning to have an effect on build rates in the region, as costs and supply chain disruptions begin to mount,” CRU Senior Automotive Analyst David Leah wrote earlier this month. “While demand has remained positive in the first few months of the year, we expect demand to soften in the second half of the year as prices rise and consumer confidence dampens.
President Trump in April imposed a 25% Section 232 tariff on imports of fully assembled vehicles. (Note that there are exemptions for US value-added content in USMCA-compliant vehicles.) Trump also imposed a 25% tariff on non-USMCA auto parts in May.
