GM cuts production at 6 plants

General Motors Corp. said Wednesday it has cut production at six plants that make large sport utility vehicles and pickups, citing fuel prices and competition in the market. The largest U.S. automaker did not specify how deep the production cuts were.

But GM spokesman Tom Wickham said that starting this past Monday, the company eliminated previously scheduled overtime production at plants in Arlington, Texas; Janesville, Wis.; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Flint, Mich.; Silao, Mexico; and Oshawa, Ontario.

The change will be in effect for the rest of the year.

"Reducing overtime production enables us to reduce pressure for excessive incentive spending, helping us keep brand and product residual values as high as we can," Wickham said.

GM's SUV and truck sales were down 9 percent in the first seven months of the year as housing starts slowed, high gas prices damped demand for bigger vehicles and competitors ramped up incentives.

Earlier this summer, Toyota Motor Corp. was offering incentives of just more than $5,000 per vehicle on its new full-size Tundra pickups, according to the auto research site Edmunds.com. GM responded by raising incentive spending in July.

Wickham said GM isn't revising its production forecast at this time but could announce changes when monthly sales results are released Sept. 4. GM plans to produce 1.075 million vehicles in the third quarter, including 697,500 trucks. That's an increase of 2.2 percent over the third quarter of 2006.

GM shares rose 25 cents to $31.33 in trading Wednesday.

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