GENERAL Motors will shut down the plant that makes the Chevrolet Cruze compact car for a week because sales have slowed and Japanese competitors now have ample supplies of competing cars.

The factory, in Lordstown, Ohio, US, had been running around the clock, with overtime shifts on Saturdays to keep up with strong Cruze sales during the summer. Sales of the compact rose against two of its main competitors, the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla, in short supply because of parts shortages resulting from Japan's March earthquake.

GM spokesman Chris Lee said the Lordstown plant, about 80 kilometers southeast of Cleveland, will shut down in the last week of November but will return to full operation the following week.

The Cruze was the top-selling small car in the US from May to September, with sales in most of those months topping 20,000, according to Autodata. But sales dropped to just more than 14,000 in October.