Ford has paused F-150 production at its Dearborn Truck Plant near Detroit, Michigan, with the shutdown expected to continue through September 29 as a supply chain shortage disrupts output.
Dearborn Plant Pauses F-150 Production
According to a report from Reuters, production at the Dearborn Truck Plant has been paused since Thursday, September 24. The facility is expected to remain inactive until September 29, resulting in close to a full week without assembly-line production.
The disruption is significant for Ford because the Dearborn facility typically handles a substantial share of total F-150 production.
The Kansas City Assembly Plant is also reportedly canceling certain shifts. That adds to the production challenge because the plant would normally increase output when Dearborn production is weak to help compensate, and vice versa.
Supply Chain Shortage Behind Production Halt
The root cause of the latest disruption remains unclear. Reuters spoke with anonymous sources inside the company and learned that the issue stems from a supply chain shortage.
No further details about the shortage have been provided. However, the disruption reportedly is not connected to the previous aluminum shortage that affected Ford last year following multiple fires at its supplier’s plant.
Ford had already faced a severe aluminum shortage following the Novelis incident and had not fully recovered before the latest supply problem began affecting production capacity again.
F-150 Sales Already Under Pressure
The production pause comes as Ford works through weaker F-Series sales. Sales across the F-Series lineup dropped 11% year-over-year in August, making the latest production disruption another obstacle for the company.
With production at the Dearborn Truck Plant paused for several days and certain shifts reportedly canceled at the Kansas City Assembly Plant, the supply chain shortage is putting further pressure on Ford’s F-150 production and sales recovery.
