LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — At least one auto group in central Kentucky is ready for the worst. Should United Auto Workers union members walk off the job at midnight Friday, inventory here should last through the end of 2023.
“We plan for the quarter, so I’d say through at least the next quarter we should be fine,” said Mark Collier of the Paul Miller Auto Group.
Paul Miller Ford figures to be impacted most, given Ford Motor Company, is one of the three automakers involved in this negotiation.
“We were doing it ahead of COVID, but once COVID hit we focused in on it, because COVID was the real strike,” Collier said of his group’s business plan going back to 2020.
Essentially, he’s saying they’ve guarded against assembly line and supply chain issues for many years to be prepared for the unknown. No one knows how long a strike would last, but we know that any time lost on the assembly line would impact supply and hurt those businesses that manufacture the parts placed into those new cars. Then, once the collection does start to dwindle on car lots, the prices could rise, and your choices would likely be limited.
“Manufacturers haven’t kept as many cars on the lots as the used to, so we tell customers if there’s a car they really, really like the chance of getting it in a month or two aren’t that great, so get the one you want now,” Collier suggests.
