A Broken Part Makes Ford To Stop Production Of The F-150

The Ford F-150, the country’s best-selling pickup, is facing a new production-related issue. Ford has reportedly been forced to temporarily halt production at Dearborn once more, stopping assembly lines from last Thursday and keeping them offline through Friday and Saturday, following several fires at the Blue Oval’s aluminium supplier Novelis last year that caused significant production disruptions and shortages.

Sunday might have been impacted as well, and because today is Memorial Day, there could be a four-day production halt. And it’s all due to a single broken part. Although it might not seem like much, a four-day production halt could result in a backlog of more than 2,500 trucks because Ford’s manufacturing has been working two 10-hour shifts every day. Even worse, compared to the previous year, Ford has almost 60,000 fewer cars in stock.

A die used to build the F-150’s hood failed at a nearby stamping facility, so Ford might have to run a “super Saturday” or “super Sunday” (adding an extra shift) to make up at least some of the losses, according to an unidentified source who talked to the Detroit Free Press. In order to resume producing the aluminium hood, Ford must repair this heavy-duty mould. Without the hood, the remainder of the F-150 would be extremely difficult to assemble.

Although Ford could keep producing trucks and add the hoods later, this would disrupt the production process. It would be a logistical nightmare overall. Ford would need a place to keep the unfinished trucks, and inconsistent paint finishes would probably occur. Ford hopes to increase F-Series manufacturing by 50,000 cars this year, but it probably won’t be able to do so until late 2026.

• Also See: Ford Escape And Lincoln Corsair Have Been Recalled Due To “Rollaway”