Bronco SUV under production at Ford’s Michigan assembly plant, June 14, 2021.
Michael Wayland | CNBC
DIGEST – Ford Motor will cut production next week of several key products due to the ongoing global shortage of semiconductor chips.
The automaker on Friday confirmed next week’s production shutdown for the Ford Bronco and Explorer SUVs; pickup trucks Ford F-150 and Ranger; electric crossover Ford Mustang Mach-E; and Lincoln Aviator SUVs at plants in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri and Mexico due to parts shortages.
The automaker is also cutting some production of its F-150 and Ford Transit cargo vans at plants in Michigan and Missouri.
The cuts that signal the chip shortages that devastated the auto industry last year continue to drag on. They came a considerable day after Ford miss Wall Street earnings expectations due to lower-than-expected output caused by supply chain problems, sent shares down 9.7% on Friday.
“Global semiconductor shortages continue to affect Ford’s North American plants – along with automakers and other industries around the world,” Ford said. “Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a commitment to continuing to build every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect.”
The fact that Ford is cutting some of the most in-demand and profitable models like BroncoMach-E and F-150 shows that automakers continue to battle the issue even though many in the industry expect chip supplies to gradually improve by 2022.
Ford sold 1.9 million vehicles in the US in 2021, down 6.8% as it managed to manage a global shortage of semiconductors. Parts problems forced Ford and other automakers to repeatedly close factories and deplete inventory.
After rising about 140% in 2021, shares of Ford are down 13.5% this year.
