Ford to boost production by 40,000 units, shorten summer plant shutdown

The Detroit Free Press reports Ford is set to boost production by 40,000 units. The company plans to half its summer shutdown to just one week at 13 plants this July. Ford says that it is already operating most of its facilities at maximum capacity, and adding a week of production is a good way to balance manufacturing with demand. The automaker is also adding extra shifts at three of its production facilities this month. Overall, Ford will increase its production this year by a whopping 400,000 units to three million vehicles by October.

But Ford isn't the only domestic manufacturer to step up production. Chrysler is also skipping the summer shutdown at four of its plants and idling two more for one week instead of two. General Motors, meanwhile, will continue its summer plant stops as planned.