Ford adds chip-related downtime at 3 light-truck plants

DETROIT — Workers at three Ford Motor Co. assembly plants in North America will face some level of downtime next week because of semiconductor-related parts shortages, including both factories that make the bestselling F-150 pickup.

The automaker said its Oakville Assembly Plant in Canada, as well as Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri, will be down the week of Aug. 30. Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan will operate just one shift that week.

The Oakville plant produces the Ford Edge and Lincoln Nautilus crossovers. The F-150 is produced at the Kansas City and Dearborn factories.

“Our teams continue making the most of our available semiconductor allocation, finding unique solutions to provide as many high-quality vehicles as possible to our dealers and customers,” a spokeswoman said in a statement.

The Kansas City plant is currently down because of parts shortages.

Ford has been hit especially hard by the chip crisis, although the company plans to work through “most” of some 60,000 to 70,000 unfinished vehicles that are sitting in lots around assembly plants by the end of the third quarter.