Ford Motor Co. showcases a new 2021 Ford F-150 pickup truck at the Rouge Complex in Dearborn, Michigan on September 17, 2020.
Rebecca Cook | Reuters
Ford Motor said on Thursday that the global shortage of semiconductor chips and winter storms affecting the availability of other parts in the US are causing shift work at two plants to be canceled and F-150 pickups and Edge SUVs to be built without certain parts. .
The carmaker plans to complete construction of the F-150 and Edge models in “a few weeks” when parts, including some semiconductor electronic components, are available. The number of affected vehicles is expected to be “in the thousands,” said a Ford spokeswoman. She declined to be more specific due to the volatility of the chip shortage.
Production cancellations include three shifts through Friday at a Kentucky facility producing Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair crossovers. Ford also confirmed downtime earlier this month, as well as a day the following week at a factory in Germany that produces the Ford Fiesta car, which is no longer sold in the US.
Ford’s moves are the latest as the auto industry tries to address the global chip shortage. Consulting firm AlixPartners estimates that the chip shortage will reduce $ 60.6 billion in revenues from the global auto industry this year.
Ford has said the chip shortage could cut its revenues by $ 1 billion to $ 2.5 billion this year.
Ford’s biggest rival in Crosstown, General Motors, previously confirmed that it is also building some pick-ups in part in an effort to keep factories running amid the chip shortage. GM expects its chip shortage to reduce $ 1.5 billion to $ 2.5 billion from its free cash flow by 2021.