Chrysler has temporarily closed five of its ten plants this week and four more will be idle next week.

The carmaker said the shutdowns had been the result of demand issues, rather than imminent strike threats from the United Auto Workers union.

Ford has suspended production of SuperDuty pick-ups at one of its plants in Kentucky for two weeks and Hyundai is also scheduled to close its Alabama assembly site for seven days. Hyundai's suspension will be followed by planned closures throughout November and December due to excess inventories of the Sonata family saloon. Meanwhile, GM is planning to close its SUV plant in Ohio for seven days, having recently slashed its 2007 sales forecast sales from 16.7 million to 16.2 million units. The production slowdown comes as a result of the sluggish American new car market, which is in the grip of the country's sub-prime credit crisis, and highlights the carmaker's unrealistically optimistic sales targets.

Negotiations between Chrysler and the UAW have continued. A strike deadline has been set for today but reports from the US suggest a definite outcome has yet to be reached.