DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday said several of its North America assembly plants, which have already experienced weeks of downtime from the global chip shortage, will be idled for at least part of July.
Chicago Assembly Plant, which builds the profitable Ford Explorer and Lincoln Aviator crossovers, will be down the weeks of July 5, 12, 19 and 26 and will run two shifts the week of Aug. 2, the automaker said Wednesday.
Dearborn Truck, which makes all-important Ford F-150 pickups, will run on two shifts the weeks of July 12,19 and 26. Kansas City Assembly Plant’s F-150 line will be down the weeks of July 12 and 19, while its Ford Transit line will be down the week of July 19.
Flat Rock Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Mustang, will be down the weeks of July 12 and 19.
Hermosillo Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Bronco Sport, will run one of two shifts the weeks of July 12 and 19.
Kentucky Truck Plant, which builds the Super Duty, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, will be down the week of July 12 and run two shifts the weeks of July 19, 26 and Aug. 2.
Louisville Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair crossovers, will run on a reduced schedule the week of July 19.
Oakville Assembly Complex in Canada, which builds the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers, will produce the Nautilus only the weeks of July 19, 26 and Aug. 2.
Ford also said that Michigan Assembly Plant, which builds the Ford Bronco and Ranger, will be down the weeks of July 5 and 26 due to an unrelated part shortage.
“The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect global automakers and other industries in all parts of the world,” Ford said in a statement. “While we continue to manufacture new vehicles, we’re prioritizing completing our customers’ vehicles that were assembled without certain parts due to the industry-wide semiconductor shortage. This is in line with our commitment to get our customers their vehicles as soon as possible and consistent with our forecasted supply.”
Ford expects to lose $2.5 billion and roughly 1.1 million units of production this year because of the chip shortage, which CEO Jim Farley has labeled “perhaps the greatest supply shock” he’s ever seen. The automaker has been hit particularly hard compared to its rivals, according to Autoforecast Solutions.
Dealers around the country are desperate for inventory but have been told that help may not come until August at the earliest.
In a research note published earlier this week, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas interviewed an unidentified dealer who said the worst of the crisis isn’t over.
“I don’t know how we’re seeing the worst of it when we entered this month with 50 or 55 cars to sell,” they said. “This month (July) we’ll have 30 cars to sell. And August we may have 5. I’d say August should be the ‘bottom’ and if it’s not the bottom we’re (expletive).”