Guwahati: Ford and Toyota announced on Wednesday that some manufacturing might be halted as anti-coronavirus mandate protestors blocked US-Canada border crossings, causing Washington and Ottawa to issue economic warnings.
As copycat demonstrations spread to Australia, New Zealand, and France, many pandemic-weary western countries will shortly celebrate two years of restrictions, despite decreasing cases of the highly contagious Omicron form in some regions.
The disturbance near Detroit, the historic hub of the US automobile industry, has now impacted several carmakers. Other variables, such as extreme weather and a semiconductor chip scarcity, also had a role.
Toyota, the top seller in the United States, has announced that it will not be producing vehicles at its Ontario plants for the rest of the week.
Output at a Ford engine plant has been interrupted, while Stellantis’ production has been disrupted.
Since late Tuesday, another border crossing in Alberta has been closed in both directions.
Road transport accounts for more than two-thirds of the 650 billion Canadian dollars ($511 billion) in products exchanged annually between Canada and the United States.
Protesters opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine rule for cross-border trucks staged the “Freedom Convoy” in downtown Ottawa, which was mimicked in the United States. Canadian protesters are now voicing their dissatisfaction with a carbon tax and other policies.