Blockades of the U.S.-Canada border stymied flows of critical supplies for the fourth day on Friday, leaving companies scrambling for materials and shutting down major auto factories from Ontario to Alabama.
The partial closure of the Ambassador Bridge, the busiest land crossing between the countries and a vital conduit for the auto industry, sent ripples through North American supply chains. Business groups called on officials to forcefully remove protesters who were causing the blockades. Some companies tried to redistribute key parts among their factories and looked for other ways to move products.
But others appeared resigned to shutdowns, saying that bypassing the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit and Windsor, Ontario, was just too expensive or difficult.
Toyota said that the disruptions had led to “periodic downtime” at its engine plants in West Virginia and Alabama, as well as factories in Canada and Kentucky, and that interruptions were likely to continue through the weekend. Ford Motor curtailed capacity at two plants in Windsor and Oakville, which is also in Ontario, and shut down its Ohio assembly plant.
Other automakers said their assembly lines were running but not at optimal levels.
General Motors’ production was “running at relatively normal levels,” the company said Friday. Stellantis, which owns Jeep, Ram and other brands, said that all its North America plants had started Friday morning, but that the situation remained “incredibly fluid.”
The disruptions threatened to linger as truck drivers and members of far-right groups protested vaccine mandates and other pandemic restrictions in Canada and called for the resignation of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Both the Canadian and American governments were trying to help companies get auto parts, fresh fruit and vegetables, and other products through the border. Manufacturers and logistics companies were sometimes routing trucks hundreds of miles out of their way to bridges and border…
