At a time when gas prices have surged to their highest levels since mid-2022 due to geopolitical volatility from the US-Iran conflict and shipping concerns, GM is ramping up production of its gas-guzzling heavy-duty pickups in Michigan.
The automaker is adding a sixth workday in overtime shifts at its Flint Assembly plant in Michigan to meet strong demand for gas-powered pickups; starting in June, the factory will operate six days a week, up from five.
“General Motors is making strategic adjustments to Flint Assembly’s production schedule to align with strong customer demand,” a GM spokesman said in an emailed statement to the Wall Street Journal.
Existing Workers Will Be Mandated into Overtime Hours
The addition of an extra work day at the truck plant comes at a time when fuel prices have spiked after the start of the Middle East conflict—by around 30% in March, with the national average close to hitting $4.00 per gallon of regular gas as of late March 2026.
Given the increase in large pickup truck demand GM is seeing, US heavy-duty truck buyers appear as yet unfazed by rising gas and diesel prices.
Despite the addition of a sixth production day, GM said it has no plans to add jobs at the plant that makes the Chevy Silverado 2500HD/3500HD and GMC Sierra 2500HD/3500HD pickups.
There are currently three shifts across five days a week at Flint Assembly, which is GM’s longest-running North American assembly plant since 1947. Once production increases in June, the factory will operate six days a week as three overtime shifts will be added—manned by the same employees that work five days a week now.
The factory employs about 4,200 hourly workers which currently build approximately 1,100 vehicles every day, according to a United Auto Workers official cited by WSJ.
Canadian Plant That Also Makes Heavy-Duty Silverados Stays Put
In addition to Flint Assembly, GM also builds Chevrolet Silverado heavy-duty pickups at Oshawa Assembly plant in Canada. However, the automaker said Canadian pickup production will remain unchanged.
This goes to show that, demand increase aside, GM is ramping up production in the US to avoid a hit from tariffs, something it has done for the past year since automotive tariffs were introduced.
The Silverado and Sierra heavy-duty trucks are among the most profitable vehicles for GM, in addition to the full-size Silverado 1500 and Sierra 1500 half-ton pickups and their full-size SUV siblings from Cadillac, Chevrolet and GMC.
General Motors sold approximately 320,000 heavy-duty Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups in the US last year. More than 206,000 were heavy-duty Silverados, a 12% increase over the previous year, and over 118,000 were heavy-duty GMC Sierras, up 9%.
