Canadian Chrysler plants to reopen

DETROIT, April 4 (UPI) -- Two Canadian Chrysler plants closed this week by a dispute with a parts supplier will reopen soon, company officials say.

Assembly plants in Windsor and Brampton, Ontario, were shut down for two days after Transcast Precision Inc. suspended parts deliveries to Chrysler in a bid to wring higher prices from the U.S. automaker, the Detroit Free Press reported Saturday.

A statement released by the company said the plants would reopen next week.

Production was halted on Chrysler's minivans in Windsor and the Chrysler 300, Dodge Charger and Dodge Challenger in Brampton, the newspaper said.

The automaker reportedly attempted to retrieve the machine tools it lent to Transcast to make its parts but discovered they, along with tools from GM and other customers, had been moved to other sites, prompting an Ontario Superior Court judge to order Transcast to provide access to the tooling.

"We have and will continue to aggressively take the necessary steps that are required to protect our own interests," GM spokesman Dan Flores said. "GM will not tolerate the coercive behavior exhibited by Transcast."