Ford Motor Co. has restarted production of its best-seller, the F-150 full-size pickup, at its factory in Dearborn.
The automaker halted all production at Dearborn Truck Plant, where it builds the F-150, starting Sept. 24 with a plan to keep it down through Sept. 30.
But Mark DePaoli told the Detroit Free Press on Sept. 29 that production restarted in the morning of Sept. 29. A Ford spokesman confirmed it. DePaoli is the UAW Region 1A director and former vice president of UAW Local 600, which represents the hourly workforce at Dearborn Truck Plant.
The production halt was partly timed for Ford to do some facility repairs as well as the company dealing with the supplier issue. Ford employs about 3,500 to 4,000 workers at Dearborn Truck Plant.
Ford
also makes the F-150 at Kansas City Assembly Plant in Claycomo, Missouri. Production there was down on Friday, but has since resumed, said UAW Local 249 Bargaining Chair Jim Fisher. But production at that facility has been spotty all month as Ford struggled with supplier issues, Fisher said.
As of Sept. 29, Fisher said the automaker indicated it has parts to keep running through Sept. 30. He said after that, Ford usually goes day by day with managing the parts to ensure it has enough to keep the line going.
Fisher told the Detroit Free Press on Friday that since Sept. 1, Ford has canceled 15 shifts of F-150 production at Kansas City Assembly due to parts issues. The plant employs about 8,600 workers, about half of those people work on the F-150 and the other build the Transit van.
When asked about the production halts on Friday, Ford spokesman Dave Tovar told the Detroit Free Press, "We don't comment on supplier disruptions."
Ford has struggled since late last year with keeping its F-150 production going to meet demand after two fires at its key aluminum supplier, Novelis, created a shortage. Ford uses aluminum in the bodies of many of its vehicles, including its top-selling F-150 pickup. But Ford leaders have assured the market that the company was on course to make up the lost production by year-end.
The disruption couldn't come at a worse time given that analysts are predicting a dismal third-quarter in U.S. new car sales for the Detroit Three, saying they will lose the most market share in recent history. In fact, the prediction is that Hyundai will outsell Ford in the third quarter. Ford reports its third-quarter sales on Oct. 2.
Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Ford restarts F-150 pickup production at two plants, one in Dearborn
