The Ford F-150 remains a major part of Ford’s lineup and the U.S. vehicle market, ranking among the country’s best-selling vehicles alongside the Chevrolet Silverado and Toyota RAV4. A new walkthrough of the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan reveals how the full-size pickup is assembled, from hands-on manufacturing and transmission components to final performance testing.
Inside Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant
Ford builds the F-150 at two U.S. facilities: the Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan and the Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, where the pickup shares the manufacturing complex with the Transit. The Dearborn facility, featured in a walkthrough by FRAME, provides a detailed look at the truck’s production process from beginning to end.
The plant is part of the Ford Rouge Complex, which dates back to 1917. The complex also houses the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center (REVC), where Ford built the now-discontinued all-electric F-150 Lightning.
Unlike the Kansas City Assembly Plant, the Dearborn facility also produces the F-150 Raptor, the most performance-oriented version of the pickup.
Nearly 5,000 Workers Help Build the F-150
According to Ford, the Dearborn Truck Plant employed nearly 5,000 workers as of June 2026. Footage from the facility shows employees playing an active role throughout production rather than leaving the entire process to automated robots, including during body-in-white assembly.
Workers are also shown installing electronic components into a transmission housing and assembling a transmission control unit in a clean-room environment. These steps illustrate the range of tasks involved in manufacturing the pickup.
The plant also uses a distinctive approach to assembling the truck’s chassis and body. At many assembly facilities, including BMW’s South Carolina factory, the body and chassis are joined before the wheels are installed.
At Dearborn, however, the chassis is suspended from an overhead chain conveyor, allowing workers to install the wheels before the body and chassis are connected in a process known as “marriage.”
How Ford Tests the F-150 Before Delivery
Once assembly is complete, the F-150 moves to the end of the production line for testing on a dynamometer. The tests verify components including the engine, transmission and drivetrain.
After completing the dynamometer tests, the trucks are driven to an inspection area for further checks.
Ford’s F-150 Production and the Changing Truck Market
Ford produced 537,030 F-150 units in the United States last year, alongside 380,126 Super Duty trucks. The Super Duty models were assembled in Kentucky and Ohio, with production also expanding to the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada.
F-150 production this year follows a September supplier problem that temporarily shut down the Dearborn plant. Broader market trends also present a changing backdrop for the pickup, as smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles, including sedans and hybrids, are experiencing sales growth amid high fuel prices.
What’s New for the 2027 Ford F-150?
For the 2027 model year, Ford has updated the F-150’s engine lineup and introduced more affordable Tremor and Raptor configurations. The truck also gains hands-free towing capability through BlueCruise.
Ford is additionally introducing a new Carhartt package for the XLT. The package features workwear-inspired styling aimed at buyers seeking a pickup that can serve both professional and everyday needs.
With nearly 5,000 workers involved in production at Dearborn, annual U.S. output exceeding half a million F-150 units last year and several updates planned for the 2027 model year, the plant remains a key part of Ford’s full-size pickup manufacturing operation.
