As Ford Authority reported last week, production of the Ford F-150 Lightning at the Rouge Electric Vehicle Center in Michigan was recently paused for one week, a move that is a direct result of a major fire impacting one of The Blue Oval’s largest aluminum suppliers, Novelis. Ford has also paused or cut back production at the Louisville Assembly plant and Kentucky Truck plant as it works to mitigate the impacts of this issue, and now, it seems as if Ford F-150 Lightning production may be idled longer than previously thought, too.
According to the Detroit Free Press, Ford F-150 Lightning production at REVC has been idled this week, due to “restricted access to aluminum,” but that report adds “production of that vehicle could be idle for several weeks,” too. This news comes directly from a source within the United Auto Workers (UAW) union that represents workers at the plant. Regardless, it doesn’t come as a huge surprise given the fact that the rest of the Ford F-Series lineup is a far more popular and profitable entity for the automaker.
Meanwhile, Ford is working to mitigate these impacts via other suppliers, while Novelis is trying to determine if aluminum from its overseas plants is up to Blue Oval standards “Novelis is one of several aluminum suppliers to Ford. Since the fire nearly three weeks ago, Ford has been working closely with Novelis, and a full team is dedicated to addressing the situation and exploring all possible alternatives to minimize any potential disruptions,” a Ford spokesperson said in a statement last week.
Ultimately, analysts believe that this incident could cost The Blue Oval upwards of $1 billion, given the fact that it may impact production of the F-Series line of pickups through the end of the year, though the aluminum plant isn’t expected to come back fully online until Q1 2026. Ford isn’t alone in that regard, however, as Novelis churns out around 350,000 metric tons of sheet aluminum annually to it, along with Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Stellantis, among other companies.
The current-generation SUV debuted way back in 2011.
A more convenient way for fleets to upfit vehicles.
After it debuted last year as a two-door only model.
That unit may crack and leak coolant, potentially causing a fire.
While other brands ditch sedans altogether.
There are other ways Ford could utilize those spaces.
