European car makers are readying themselves for the latest threat to their vehicle productions lines, an anticipated shortage of glass for windscreens and windows. 

The war in Ukraine has caused gas prices to rise steeply as we all know, but the latest disruption to supply from Russian suppliers, is also likely to cause a serious gas shortage this winter and possible rationing. One of the industries most exposed to this is glass production, as its uses huge amounts of energy, in the production process. 

Car makers, bottle manufacturers and high-rise builders, will be some of the sectors worst affected should glass makers struggle to get energy supplies. It has been reported that Volkswagen is already stockpiling glass supplies in anticipation of a shortage that could affect production, in the same way as the semi conductor shortage. It appears that the German carmaker is prepared to abandon it’s just-in-time logistics model, in order to ensure it has enough windscreens to keep production lines open. Other car makers are likely to follow suit. 

The problem is made worse by the fact that glass manufacturing is not a process that can be stopped or started easily, as equipment relies on continuous heat and production takes extended wind down and gear up time.