GM Sues Textron, Steel Dynamics

General Motors Corp. is suing Textron Inc. and Steel Dynamics Inc., which the automaker accuses of overcharging for steel and steel parts.

The defendants violated contracts by charging extra to compensate for rising steel prices, General Motors spokesman Tom Hill said. Both companies have threatened to stop shipments if they aren’t paid, Hill said. General Motors is the only customer disputing the price increases, said a spokesman for Fort Wayne, Mich.-based Steel Dynamics, who declined to comment further. Textron, a Providence, R.I.-based manufacturer, also declined to comment.

A halt in steel deliveries could cost General Motors “millions of dollars a day” and force it to shut down assembly plants, according to the lawsuit filed in Oakland County Court in Michigan.