UAW: U.S. auto industry running 4.5 million vehicles below capacity

All the talk about car manufacturing surrounding the tariffs got us thinking—how many new vehicles can the U.S. produce annually?  

To dig into that question, we decided to refer to a source that would have that kind of insight readily available—that being the United Auto Workers union (UAW).  

The details: An April report released by the UAW revealed there’s a massive gap between America’s capacity to produce automobiles and the number of vehicles produced in the U.S.

• In 2024, the U.S. auto industry had the capacity to build more than 14.7 million vehicles. However, only 10.2 million vehicles were produced, leaving 4.5 million units of unused capacity.

• That 14.7 million capacity figure does not include major plants that have been closed or idled in recent years—such as GM’s Lordstown and Orion facilities, or Stellantis’s Belvidere plant.

• Hitting full capacity could add 90,000 manufacturing jobs and another 630,000 across the broader U.S. economy.

Why it matters: President Trump contends that one of the primary reasons for enacting the auto tariffs was to build more vehicles in the U.S.—taking direct aim at GM, Stellantis, and Ford—though Ford is said to currently build 80% of its vehicles in the U.S.     

Zeroing in: According to the UAW, The Big Three account for most of the unused production capacity in the U.S., with Volkswagen (which now includes unionized workers) also in the mix. 

• From 2015 to 2024, U.S. production among the Big 3 and VW has slipped from 6.5 million vehicles to 4.7 million—a drop of 1.8 million vehicles.

• In 2024, Ford’s plant in Louisville was at 58% capacity, producing 44% fewer vehicles than it did in 2017, while Stellantis’ Sterling Heights facility was at 54% capacity, down 45% from 2019.

• All and all, the UAW identified 16 U.S. manufacturing facilities in 2024 operating below their capacity in 2024, which included a shift cut at VW’s Chattanooga, Tennessee plant, indicating underutilization.

Bottom line: Automakers have the physical capacity to build millions more vehicles domestically, but they're not flipping the switch unless the economics make sense. With The Big Three and VW only accounting for 42% of the roughly 16 million vehicles sold in the U.S. in 2024, increasing production has to align with consumer demand at the retail level. 

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