Ford will hold 2021 Ford F-150 trucks and 2021 Ford Edge crossovers at their respective plants and temporarily suspend production at several factories as it grapples with the ongoing semiconductor chip shortage and the fallout from the February 2021 winter storm event that severely impacted several American states last month. The disruptions are expected to last for several weeks.
Although the semiconductor chip shortage will prevent Ford from shipping the 2021 Ford F-150 and 2021 Ford Edge to dealers, their production is slated to continue for now, albeit without certain parts. Ford will build, then hold the incomplete vehicles until it receives the parts it needs to finish them, and perform quality checks on the finished units before shipping the vehicles out. Ford cited a lack of electronic modules that contain semiconductors as the culprit for these disruptions. A deficit of other, unspecified parts was also mentioned in an official press release from the company.
Additionally, Ford cancelled the March 18th, 2021 night shift at the Ford Louisville Assembly plant and both shifts for March 19th, 2021. Production will continue on a reduced schedule on March 22nd, 2021, with full production resuming the following day. Ford again cited the semiconductor chip shortage as the reason why it needed to curtail operations at the plant, which currently manufactures the 2021 Ford Escape and 2021 Lincoln Corsair.
But it isn’t just Ford’s American operations that are being impacted, as the Ford Cologne Assembly plant in Germany has sharply reduced output of the 2021 Ford Fiesta this month. The facility will continue to do so for at least one additional day in March. The Blue Oval previously suspended production of the subcompact car between March 1st and March 16th, 2021 and will cancel output on March 22nd due to an unspecified reason that may be related to the semiconductor chip shortage.
Ford isn’t sure how the ongoing parts shortage will affect its bottom line, but disclosed that a $1 billion to $2 billion hit to its EBIT (earnings before interest and taxes) could occur if the semiconductors remain in short supply beyond the first half of 2021. CEO Jim Farley recently stated that the crisis should run its course by Q3 2021.
We’ll have more on the semiconductor chip shortage soon, so subscribe to Ford Authority for around-the-clock Ford news coverage.
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