The Ford F-150 has been the best-selling vehicle in America for nearly three decades. So, you can be fairly certain Ford doesn’t want to stop building it. Yet, at one of the largest factories that builds the truck, Ford just did.
Ford’s massive River Rouge plant in Dearborn, Michigan, has shut down its F-150 assembly line until at least Sunday due to the global shortage of microchips. The plant expects to resume production Monday.
The move hasn’t stopped F-150 production completely. Other factories will continue building the truck, including one in Kansas City, Missouri.
GM Also Stops Truck Production
General Motors, meanwhile, will completely stop U.S. production of its Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon midsize trucks from March 29 until at least April 5. GM has already shuttered factories building the Cadillac CT4, CT5, and Chevy Camaro. The automaker continues to build its full-size pickups without some chips, deleting a cylinder deactivation feature that had improved their fuel economy.
The moves come as a global shortage of semiconductors grows. The problem has complex causes, including a consumer buying spree focused on home electronics during COVID-19 lockdowns that has used up much of the available supply and even a recent fire that has slowed production at a company responsible for nearly a third of the world’s automotive chip supply. Analysts expect the shortage to ease in the second half of 2021.
Though the moves will restrict the supply of some popular vehicles, we have not yet seen any impact on consumer prices – in part because manufacturers have already been moving toward a business model that sees them choosing to carry tighter inventories.
Related:
- Auto Industry Asks for Government Help with Microchip Shortage
- Microchip Shortage Update: VW in “Crisis Mode,” GM Cuts 80,000 Cars
