Detroit: American automaker Chrysler had to shut down production and/or cancel shifts at five of its plants following a squabble with parts supplier Plastech, who has been in trouble for around two plus years. The disagreement can potentially idle production schedules at all 14 of the automaker's facilities.

Founded in 1988, Plastech Engineered Products Inc. has 35 facilities and 7,700 employees in the United States and Canada. It supplies around 500 plastic parts for almost all Chrysler automobiles.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after Chrysler unceremoniously said it was seeking ''other sources'' for the parts. Chrysler reportedly sent a one-paragraph letter to Plastech, summarily ending its business with the company.

Following choking off of business ties with Dearborn-based Plastech, the first impact was a disruption of the flow of parts to Chrysler's facilities, forcing it to shut down four factories, and cut a shift at a fifth.

Chrysler's plants that are already closed are located in Rockford, Illinois; Newark, Delaware; Sterling Heights, Michigan, and Toledo, Ohio. Its Toledo supplier park had to send home the second shift.

Industry analysts predict that the production slowdown may not last long as Chrysler would ideally have no dearth of new companies to replace Plastech. According to Plastech, the source of its financial troubles is a shrunken liquidity on account of the downturn in the domestic auto market, and rising input costs, including the rising price of oil, which is a key input in its parts.

Reports pegged Plastech's contracts with Chrysler at around  $200 million, and quoted Plastech spokesman Kelvin Scott as saying that the company is still supplying parts to its other customers, who include Chrysler's competitors Ford and General Motors.

Engine covers, grill panels, mouldings, metal stampings, door panels, floor consoles and safety restraint system components are some of the parts Plastech supplies to Chrysler, Ford, General Motors, and Toyota, according to the company website. The company does around $1.3 billion in total business.

The disruption of production is bound to cost Chrysler at least some money, as there are no revenues to be made from an idle plant, which only adds costs in terms of lost productivity, amongst others.

Chrysler's plants, as most of the auto industry, operates on a "just-in-time" supply chain model, with parts being shipped in the nick of time as they would be needed on the assembly line, minimising parts inventory.

Chrysler has request the court to allow it to seize tooling equipment that it claims belongs to it, but is in possession of Plastech. Plastech countered saying that many of the mouldings that Chrysler is demanding are plugged in to assembly lines that make parts for other customers, adding that it could take weeks, even months to get them properly set up at another location. Additionally, it also questioned whether Chrysler actually even owned the equipment in the first place. Returning the mouldings would also disrupt production for other of Plastech's customers.

Plastech has been facing on-going financial struggles for some time now, with customers including Chrysler having earlier provided it with $46 million to enable it to continue to supply parts. Chrysler's share of that support was reported to be in the range of around $7 million.