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What kind of economic impact has the UAW strike had?

John Gnuschke, a retired economist from Memphis, Tennessee, said consumers should expect increases in car prices.

TOLEDO, Ohio — Friday begins the seventh week of the United Auto Workers strike against GM and Stellantis. On Wednesday night, Ford reached a tentative agreement with the union, which called on workers at Ford plants to return to their jobs in an effort to put pressure on the other automakers.

A report from Cox Automotive, an Atlanta-based company that analyzes car sales, says Kelley Blue Book stated that "all three of the Detroit automakers have actually seen an increase in shopping activity since the start of the UAW strike ... This is likely due to a sense of urgency for anyone who thought they would buy in the next few months."

John Gnuschke, a retired economist from Memphis, Tennessee, said consumers should expect increases in car prices.

"The end result is that car prices will rise to offset the cost of the negotiations that are taking place," he said. "The longer it lasts, the more serious it becomes for the families that are impacted all over the nation."

Cox Automotive also states "the vehicles initially targeted – GM's Canyon and Colorado, Ford's Bronco and Ranger, and Stellantis' Jeep models – are showing noticeably lower inventory volumes."

WTOL 11 reported last week that dealerships in Toledo are having to turn some customers away because they don't have the parts to repair the vehicles.

"We definitely cut back a lot from what we normally do," said UAW Local 12 striker Michael Mondragon. "We've still been able to do some stuff here and there, but nothing crazy elaborate like we have done in the past."

Fellow Local 12 striker Sheri Green agreed.

"$500 seems like a lot to some people, but it's really not," she said. "You still have your house payments, your car payments, all your bills. We've just cut back by maybe not going out to eat as much or not doing some of the fun things we like to do."

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