Skip to main content

Ford halts all F-150 truck production lines because the parts aren’t there

Ford stopped its F-150 production lines at its Dearborn Truck Plant on Wednesday night, May 9, because of a fire at a parts supplier, The Detroit News reported. Earlier in the week, Ford stopped making F-150s at a Kansas City plant because it didn’t have the parts to build the trucks due to the same fire.

Magnesium die-cast components supplier Meridian Magnesium Products in Eaton Rapids, Michigan suffered an explosion followed by a major fire on May 2. Until Meridian Magnesium is up and running, all F-150 and Super Duty pickup lines will stay idle.

Ford recovered all of its tools and dies from Meridian, none of which were damaged, according to Hau Thai-Tang, Ford executive vice president of product development and purchasing. The next steps are getting the Meridian plant back online and beginning casting at other facilities.

No one knows for sure how long it will take to restart the Meridian Magnesium plant.  Meridian did not respond when The Detroit News asked for a comment.

Ford is resigned but hopeful. “I think it’s safe to say we’re going to see an impact for several days, but we can’t say beyond that,” The Detroit News quoted Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president of global operations. “We do not see the situation impacting sales at all.”

Ford dealers and distribution chains currently have 84 days’ worth of supply, which Ford told The Detroit News should be sufficient to fill the demand.

Hinrichs told the Detroit Free Press, however, “We have to rebuild the whole supply chain.”

Ford’s F-series trucks are its most profitable models as well as the best-selling vehicle for the company and the U.S., the latter a spot it has held for 36 years. The F-Series accounts for the majority of Ford’s annual profits.

Production at General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz also stopped or shifted production because of parts shortages from the fire. The impact of the fire on Ford is much greater than it is on the other companies, however.

FCA’s Chrysler Pacifica and GM’s GMC Savana and Chevrolet Express full-size vans have felt the production squeeze. The only plant that makes the Savana and Express vans has shut down. A Fiat Chrysler spokesperson told The Detroit News the Pacifica production line had been halted.

The fire also impacted production at BMW’s Spartanburg, South Carolina facility and Mercedes-Benz’s Tuscaloosa, Alabama plant.

Editors' Recommendations

Bruce Brown
Digital Trends Contributing Editor Bruce Brown is a member of the Smart Homes and Commerce teams. Bruce uses smart devices…
2021 Ford F-150 hybrid first drive review: Tech can be tough
2021 ford f 150 review front three quarter

People talk about “car shopping” but, statistically speaking, most Americans drive off the dealership lot in a pickup truck. The Ford F-150 is the bestselling vehicle in the United States — and has been for decades. Its main rivals, the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 and Ram 1500, aren’t far behind on the sales charts.

The F-150 has maintained its dominance in part because it has changed with the times. The modern F-150 is no spartan work vehicle. It has the same level of infotainment and driver-assist tech as most passenger cars, with good-enough road manners to serve as a daily driver.

Read more
2021 Tesla Cybertruck vs. 2021 Ford F-150

Tesla strongly hinted the Cybertruck won't compete in the same segment of the market as the popular Ford F-150, and whether they'll appeal to the same target audience remains to be seen, but the two pickups will inevitably overlap in many areas. Both were designed to tow, haul, venture off the beaten path, and commute.

Keep in mind Tesla won't begin building the Cybertruck until 2021 at the earliest. You can't walk to the nearest Tesla store and take one for a test drive because it's not in production; we haven't even seen the production version of it yet. The comparison with the F-150 is largely hypothetical, and all specs listed here are subject to change.
Design and tech

Read more
Ram 1500 TRX vs. Ford F-150 Raptor
ram trx vs ford f 150 raptor 2021 launch edition jpg image 2880

Trucks are big, powerful, and capable. But the Ram 1500 TRX and Ford F-150 Raptor are bigger, more powerful, and more capable. These aren't normal trucks. When Ram revealed the insane off-road-specced 1500 TRX, comparing it Ford's Raptor was an easy given. The F-150 Raptor has been the champion of full-size off-road trucks since its release for the 2010 model year. Ram wants that title and is using 702 horsepower to claim it. But power isn't everything for these types of trucks; they have to crawl through rocks, jump sand dunes, traverse mud pits, creep through high water, and plow through snowbanks. It takes a lot of engineering to make a 3-ton truck do that. Below, we compare both crazy trucks. Is the TRX the new champ? Decide for yourself.
Power, acceleration, and towing
Ford F-150 Raptor

Ford’s Raptor is powered by a twin-turbo 3.5-liter V6 engine that churns out an impressive 450 hp and 510 pound-feet of torque. A 10-speed automatic backs the engine. According to Car and Driver, the big truck will hit 60mph in 5.1 seconds on its way to a quarter-mile time of 13.9 seconds at 99mph. If you have towing or hauling duties, the Raptor can tow up to 8,000 pounds and has a payload capacity of up to 1,200 pounds. However, all that can soon change if the rumors of the upcoming Raptor getting the Mustang Shelby GT500’s supercharged V8 are true. 
Ram 1500 TRX

Read more