Ford stopped F-150 production at its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan for nearly a week because of a supplier problem, Reuters reported, citing an internal memo. On Sept 30, CEO Jim Farley said production has resumed but the disruption is affecting Ford’s third-quarter wholesale volume, or vehicles shipped to dealers.
The plant canceled all production crews from Thursday through Sept. 29, according to the memo. Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant also canceled some shifts because of the issue, while the Kentucky Truck Plant increased truck production to compensate, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters.
The supplier problem was unrelated to the aluminum shortage that cut Ford’s truck output over the past year, the person said. Farley said Ford is now “fully recovered” from two fires late last year at aluminum supplier Novelis that cost the automaker about 100,000 units of production and what Ford called a $2 billion headwind.
F-Series sales fell 10.9% through August to 494,060 trucks. Ford’s total US sales fell 9.8% over the same period. The F-Series is Ford’s best-selling vehicle line and a major contributor to its truck business.
Dearborn Truck also stopped production in May after a hood die was damaged at a nearby stamping plant, CBT News reported.
