Ford slows down F-150 production
Suppliers are the lifeblood of the auto industry, and as Ford can attest, little can be built without the parts produced by said partners. Workers at Ford's Dearborn truck plant were sent home yesterday, as a vital supplier's logistical problems left the plant without the needed parts to make trucks. Workers were told not to return to work until Thursday, which would leave Ford with about two days of lost production of its best-selling vehicle. Ford's Kansas City assembly plant has also been affected by the parts problem.
The F-150 disruption has little to do with the GM strike, and due to the soft truck market, the lost production probably won't hurt as badly as it would have a year ago. One thing is for certain, however: it must suck to be the supplier that caused this gargantuan screwup.
[Source: Detroit News]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Ligor 9:11AM (9/26/2007)
well considering they have 60+ days of inventory they shouldn't even feel the two day loss of production.
it just lowers their inventory by 2 days, big deal.
But is does suck to be that supplier, they might de-source them
Reply
Alex 9:22AM (9/26/2007)
OOO... Ford is probably both pissed and pleased. This will give them the chance to bring their inventory down, but they have got to be pissed at that supplier. I wonder if they can levy a financial charge on the supplier for the disruption?
Reply
MTU 5.0 10:06AM (9/26/2007)
They can most definitely charge the supplier back for downtime. I think the decision to charge them or not and what amount gets charged, would depend on that supplier's previous track record and the other details surrounding the disruption.
MikeW 11:36AM (9/26/2007)
They should just stop and restart when they have the 6 speed automatic.
Reply
Mike 12:29PM (9/26/2007)
Mike W,
Please, no more gear ratio and gear number talk.
You're like a little baby that keeps crying until it gets what it wants, the 6 speed will be in this truck for the refresh in about 1 year.
Here's your pacifier.
Matt 2:39PM (9/26/2007)
And engines that don't feel anemic. Actually, Ford had better get its act together. GM is building much better trucks and once again, Ford is playing catch up.
maxconfus 7:46PM (9/26/2007)
I am not surprised to hear this news since I am the proud recipient of the lack of ford truck parts booby prize. I own an explorer in need of steering column assembly repair but the part is not available. The truck is not drivable and the part will not be available till late Nov 07.
Reply
Bryan 11:35PM (9/26/2007)
This is probably a good thing. With the redesigned model coming out less inventory of the old can't be too bad of a thing. Everything happens for a reason!
Reply