Liberty, Nitro lines to shut down 2 weeks

12/23/2006

The factory that makes the Jeep Liberty and Dodge Nitro at the Toledo Jeep Assembly complex will not operate the fi rst two weeks of January as DaimlerChrysler AG adjusts inventories of the sport utility vehicles, a company spokesman said yesterday.

While demand for the new Nitro has been good, prompting additional shifts in November and December for that all-new SUV, sales of the Liberty have

been down. Liberty s U.S. sales were down 19 percent through November at 121,578. The factory employs 2,800 workers.

The neighboring factory where the redesigned Jeep Wrangler is built will run daily

overtime the fi rst week of January, Chrysler said.