The move is the latest wave from a global semiconductor shortage that forced Honda and Toyota to announce production cuts at some US factories earlier this week.
A global semiconductor shortage and a February winter storm forced Ford to manufacture F-150 pickup trucks without some computers.
The company says the pickup will be held in factories for “several weeks”, then shipped to dealers once computers are available and quality checked.
The move is the latest wave from a global semiconductor shortage that forced Honda and Toyota to announce production cuts at some US factories earlier this week. General Motors has also been forced to make pickups without some computers and later install them.
Ford’s move is expected to tighten the inventory of the F-series pickup of the best-selling vehicles in the US. Inventories are already tight due to high demand and loss of production due to last year’s coronavirus-related factory closures.
Ford also said that it would manufacture edge SUVs without computers and ship them later, and that it would cancel some changes on March 18 and 19 at an assembly plant in Louisville, Kentucky, where the Ford Escape SUV was made is.
Automakers have said that they do not expect chip shortages before the third quarter of the year. Ford has said that this reduction could reduce its pretax earnings from $ 1 billion to $ 2.5 billion, even if it made up for some lost production in the second half of the year.
On March 18, Nissan also announced that it would temporarily cancel production at factories in Smyrna, Tennessee; Canton, Mississippi; And Aguascalientes, in Mexico, due to chip shortages. Some US production lines will be down from March 19 to 22, while others will be inactive for the weekend only. Aguascalientes Plant 1 will cease production from 23 March.
Affected models include Murano, Rogue, Maxima, Leaf, Ultima, NV Van, Kicks, Versa and March.
In addition, Volkswagen and Fiat Chrysler (now Stellantis) also say they have been affected by the shortages and are forced to delay production of some models to keep other factories operating.
Industry officials say semiconductor companies switched production to consumer electronics during COVID-19’s worst case in auto sales last spring. Global automakers were forced to shut down the plants to stop the spread of the virus. When automakers made a recovery, there were not enough chips to match the demand for personal electronics.
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