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Harley-Davidson’s Got Another Parts Shortage

Production Halt Anticipated to Lift July 13

A view of Harley's bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company's dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.
A view of Harley's bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company's dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.
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*UPDATE: The following is an excerpt from a press release issued from Harley-Davidson around 12-16 hours ago, on June 12.*

“Harley-Davidson, Inc. (“Harley-Davidson” or the “Company”) (NYSE:HOG) was recently notified of a potential quality issue relating to brake hose assemblies provided by a tier-2 supplier, Proterial Cable America (“PCA”), a portfolio company of Bain Capital, to the Company’s tier-1 brake system suppliers. The recently launched 2023 CVO Road Glide and Street Glide motorcycles do not utilize these brake hose assemblies.
Following this notification, Harley-Davidson will be running limited motorcycle manufacturing operations at its York facility. This is a new supplier quality issue, separate from the matter that caused the production suspension in May 2022.
Based on the latest information provided by PCA, the Company now anticipates resuming full motorcycle manufacturing operations at its York facility on June 26, 2023. The Company does not expect its international production to be meaningfully impacted.”
Harley-Davidson’s June 12 press release, published to PRNewswire

A new parts shortage arrives on the heels of Harley-Davidson’s better-than-expected sales specs – and although the brand is keeping mum on the part in question, they’ve provided a projection of when everyone will be able to get back to work. 

Coverage sourced from Business Today tells us that almost 1,000 Harley-Davidson workers have been affected by the production freeze, with this being the second time in a year that the factory has experienced a halt in manufacturing processes. Back in May of 2022, the fault lay with a brake hose problem, causing Harley to stop making bikes until June 6th of 2022, with “roughly $170 million of shipment revenue” lost between the halt and the residual sluggishness of markets coming out of lockdown (via the Milwaukee business journal). 

A view of Harley's bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company's dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.
A view of Harley’s bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company’s dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.

With “sales from motorcycles and related products [having grown] 21% to $1.56 billion in its most recent quarter,” we’re anticipating a minor dint in the next season of sales specs – though Harley’s long-awaited Homecoming Festival will likely do wonders when it comes to putting a few extra bills in the company’s proverbial pockets. 

Production is expected to resume June 13th, so we’ve got four more days of production freeze until then.

A view of Harley's bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company's dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.
A view of Harley’s bikes in their factory. Media sourced Fromm Harley-Davidson and the company’s dedicated Facebook page for their HD Museum.

What Harley part do you think is causing the factory’s production halt?

*Media sourced from Harley-Davidson and Harley’s Facebook Page for their HD Museum*