AUBURN — Daily, semi trucks hauling loads of new General Motors pickups enter the Auburn Auction Park, 5536 C.R. 11A.

Media in the region have reported that thousands of completed Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups from General Motors’ Fort Wayne Assembly are parked around the area. It’s not a new sight. A year ago the area saw the parked pickups because of a microchip shortage.

Now there’s another reason: they can’t get where they need to go.

“GM like the rest of the auto industry is experiencing a railcar capacity shortage across North America,” Fort Wayne Assembly spokesman Jeff Benzing responded in an email. “We have, and are continuing to take, actions with alternative logistics solutions to ease the back-up, but the congestion may persist for some time. We are working on strategic, long-terms solutions to reduce the time it takes to get vehicles to our dealers and customers.”

According to the Association of American Railroads, freight rail moves nearly 75% of the new cars and light trucks purchased in the U.S. And while railroads have bought new autoracks — railcars made specifically to transport finished vehicles from the assembly plants to dealerships — and upgraded old ones, auto production after COVID-19 went much higher than expected.

Until the vehicles can find a way to dealerships, they’ll sit parked. The 168-acre former Sotheby’s RM Auction property in Auburn has capacity. Along Interstate 69, drivers can see rows of parked pickups. In January 2022, the sale of the property to Joe and Terri Fisher of J.T. Fisher Properties LLC was completed. Plans were formed to turn the site into the Auburn Sports Group sporting complex for youth. However, in December, the DeKalb County Economic Development Commission denied Auburn Sports Group’s request for an economic development bond, citing what it said was a lack of proof of financing.