Ford Suspends F-150 Production on Parts Shortage
May 09 2018 - 7:25PM
Dow Jones News
By Aisha Al-Muslim and Christina Rogers
Ford Motor Co. has suspended F-150 production at two assembly
plants after a fire last week at one of its supplier's facilities
created a parts shortage.
The Dearborn, Mich.-based auto maker said Wednesday it is
working to offset U.S. production losses as the shortage of
die-cast components has affected the manufacture of F-150 and Super
Duty vehicles.
Ford halted F-150 production at its Kansas City, Mo., assembly
plant, and will suspend production at a Dearborn plant, at the end
of the afternoon shift Wednesday. Ford F-Series Super Duty
production is down at the plant in Louisville, Ky. while the
company expects Super Duty production to continue at its assembly
plant in Avon Lake, Ohio.
On Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reported that Ford was
expected to run out of parts and halt production, citing people
familiar with the matter. The Journal reported Ford was expected to
lay off several thousand workers temporarily due to the blaze on
May 2 at a plant operated by Meridian Lightweight Technologies,
owned by China's Wanfeng Auto Holding Group. Ford accounts for less
than one-third of the volume of output from the affected Meridian
plant, Ford said Wednesday.
The F-150 is Ford's best-selling vehicle and generates the bulk
of its global profit.
Ford Operating Chief Joe Hinrichs said the company has a healthy
supply of Ford trucks sitting on dealer lots and doesn't expect the
plant shutdowns to immediately affect sales.
But because auto companies book revenue when a vehicle is
shipped from the factory, the disruption is expected to have an
"adverse impact" on company earnings.
Ford is already forecasting a bleak outlook as profit is
expected to fall for a third year in a row. The company on
Wednesday backed its guidance of delivering annual adjusted
earnings per share in the range of $1.45 to $1.70.
Ford Chief Executive Jim Hackett is under pressure to boost
margins in the company's core U.S. market at a time when demand for
new cars and trucks is starting to cool after seven years of
uninterrupted growth.
Write to Aisha Al-Muslim at aisha.al-muslim@wsj.com and
Christina Rogers at christina.rogers@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
May 09, 2018 19:10 ET (23:10 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2018 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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