Ford F-150 to be built ‘without certain parts’ as company is hit hard by chip shortage

The Ford F-150 will be built without key parts due to the global semiconductor shortage, the Ford Motor Co. announced Thursday.”The global semiconductor shortage – combined with parts shortages created by the central U.S. winter storm in February – is prompting Ford to build F-150 trucks and Edge SUVs in North America without certain parts, including some electronic modules that contain scarce semiconductors,” the company wrote in a statement.It continued: “Ford will build and hold the vehicles for a number of weeks, then ship the vehicles to dealers once the modules are available and comprehensive quality checks are complete.”The Ford F-150 is built at Dearborn Truck in Michigan and Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri. The F-Series is the biggest revenue generator for the company.The announcement is a major hit to the Dearborn, Michigan-based company, as the F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in the United States since 1981. Could these long-gone vehicles make a comeback?: Chevrolet, Cadillac, Dodge classic cars offer opportunityWelcome to the ‘golden age’ of EVs: Are electric vehicles poised to kill the gasoline engine car?On Thursday, Ford said in a statement that if the shortage continues through the first half of 2021, it could adversely impact Ford’s adjusted earnings before interest and taxes (EBIT)  by between $1.0 billion and $2.5 billion.And the chip shortage will also hit one of the manufacturer’s Derby City facilities once again.Ford is canceling the night shift Thursday and both shifts Friday at the plant at the Louisville Assembly Plant at 2000 Fern Valley Rd. due to the shortage, said Kelli Felker, Ford’s global manufacturing and labor communications manager.”Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair production is expected to resume Monday on short shifts, with full production scheduled to resume Tuesday,” Felker wrote in an email Thursday.This marks the most recent in a series of temporary shutdowns at the Louisville Assembly Plant. Ford halted production at the plant for four weeks over the first two months of the year due to parts shortages — leaving 3,900 hourly workers at the plant without regular pay.The automaker giant is one of many automobile manufacturing giants, including Honda Motor Co. and Volkswagen Group, to feel the pain of the slowdown of semiconductor production.Semiconductors, or chips, are integral in automobile automation, digital connectivity and security, among other things — powering items from brakes to windshield wipers. And as cars have continually modernized, the reliance on semiconductors also has increased.Yet as car sales plummeted toward the start of the pandemic, autopart suppliers began to decrease their orders, Bloomberg reported in January of this year. And as these suppliers looked to increase inventory toward the end of the year, they struggled — and continue to struggle — to obtain their desired amount from semiconductor manufacturers.Meanwhile, the Kentucky Truck Plant, which is also located at 3001 Chamberlain Ln., has not had to shut down due to the shortage.The Louisville Assembly Plant produces the company’s Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair. Meanwhile, the Kentucky Truck Plant, off Chamberlain Lane, assembles the Super Duty pickup truck, the Ford Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator.Phoebe Wall Howard of the Detroit Free Press contributed to this article.Contact Ben Tobin at bjtobin@gannett.com and 502-377-5675 or follow on Twitter @Ben__Tobin.


Source link