Feb. 17, 2022—The Ambassador Bridge between Detroit, Michigan, and Windsor, Ontario, reopened Monday following a week-long blockade by truckers protesting Ontario's COVID-19 protocols.
Though only down for a week, the Ambassador Bridge is one of the main thoroughfares from Canada to the U.S., accounting for around 25 percent of trade between the two countries. Because of that, the blockade hit the auto industry hard; according to a report from The Detroit News, East Lansing-based consulting firm Anderson Economic Group estimates the industry lost $299.9 million in wages.
That estimate includes $155 million in lost revenue for Ford, GM, Stellantis, Honda and Toyota, and an additional $144.9 million directly in lost wages in Michigan and Ontario.
“Within hours of the trade disruption at the Ambassador and Blue Water bridges, we observed shortages and then slowdowns at assembly plants,” Anderson CEO Patrick Anderson said in a statement to The Detroit News. “Only some of that lost production can be made up given the tightness of the auto industry’s supply chain right now, so these are real losses to the men and women working in this industry.”
Ford reported some of its plants will either be idled or dropped to reduced production due to the shortage. General Motors reported that no production in either country had been downed due to the shortage.
Image: The Detroit News
