Ford F-150 production will halt again as chip shortage worsens, report says

The semiconductor chip shortage continues to ravage the US auto manufacturing sector, and America’s best-selling vehicle is in the shortage’s crosshairs once again. According to a report from Automotive News, which viewed a bulletin sent to employees, production at Ford’s Dearborn Truck Plant and part of its plant in Kansas City will shutter temporarily without enough chips to build the F-150. The shutdowns will take place the weeks of May 31 and June 14.

Ford did not immediately return a request for comment to confirm the shutdowns, but the automaker in the past said it expected big hits to production — half of what it should build won’t happen — through this quarter. The company already implemented shutdowns at various plants as supplies for the crucial chips continue to dwindle. Building on the F-150 shutdowns, the automaker’s plant in Chicago, which builds the Explorer and Aviator, will cease work for a week on May 31. The Mustang’s plant in Flat Rock will go offline the weeks of May 31 and June 7, and the Bronco Sport‘s home in Mexico will shut down the weeks of June 21 and 28.

The chip shortage continues to strain not only carmakers, but car buyers. Prices for new vehicles continue to soar, and more often, buyers are ready to pay over the MSRP to take home a vehicle. That’s led more people to search for a used vehicle, propelling preowned prices upward, too. As for when the supply chain will return to some normalcy, it may not be until 2022. However, Ford has said things will start to look better come the fall.

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