Ford has suspended F-150 production at its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan due to a supplier issue. The interruption has also affected assembly of the pickup truck in Kansas City, where several shifts have been cancelled.
According to an internal memo viewed by Reuters, all F-150 production crews at Dearborn were removed from the schedule from September 24 to 29. The automaker has not specified which part is missing nor named the supplier involved.
A person familiar with the matter told the news agency that this latest incident is unrelated to the aluminum shortage that previously disrupted Ford's operations.
Shifts cancelled across two plants
The Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri has also lost F-150 production shifts. The Detroit Free Press reported that, according to a local union representative, shift cancellations had already been piling up since the beginning of the month. Production of the Transit van, assembled at the same complex, was continuing at the time of the report.
There’s some uncertainty as to the precise duration of the shutdown at Dearborn. While the memo obtained by Reuters refers to a period running through September 29, a union representative quoted by the Detroit Free Press mentioned a suspension planned to last through September 30.
Another disruption following the aluminum shortage
Ford is still trying to recover lost production stemming from fires that occurred last year at a facility belonging to aluminum supplier Novelis in New York State. Those events deprived the automaker of tens of thousands of vehicles. According to Reuters, U.S. sales of the F-Series were down 11 percent year-over-year for the period ending in August.
It is too early to determine how many pickups Ford will lose as a result of the current stoppage, or whether it will alter delivery timelines at dealerships. The resumption of assembly will depend on resolving the supply issue, and Ford isn’t providing any details regarding that either.