The automotive industry began to return to normal production schedules Monday with the reopening of the Ambassador Bridge after a week-long blockade, even as other supply-chain disruptions continued to affect some automakers and one estimate pegged the industry's direct losses from trade disruptions in the Ontario cities of Windsor and Sarnia at nearly $300 million.
Anderson Economic Group, an East Lansing, Michigan-based consulting firm, reported Monday that it estimates the auto industry took a $299.9 million hit in lost wages and production while the Ambassador Bridge was shut down. A convoy of truck drivers and others protesting Canada's COVID-19 restrictions and a vaccine mandate for truckers shut down commercial traffic on the bridge — the conduit of 25% of trade between the U.S. and Canada and a major supply route for the automotive industry — beginning Feb. 7 through Sunday.
The estimate includes lost direct wages of $144.9 million, most of which are in Michigan and Ontario, and $155 million in losses for automakers including General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co., Stellantis NV, Honda Motor Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., for a total of $299.9 million.
