(By Observer Net, Zhang Jiadong, Editor: Gao Xin)

According to the Wall Street Journal on October 14 local time, after a serious fire accident occurred at one of Novelis' factories, a key aluminum supplier for Ford in mid-September, the company temporarily cut production of at least five vehicle models.

A union official from the United Auto Workers (UAW) said last week that due to difficulties in aluminum supply, Ford will suspend production of its profitable full-size SUVs, the Expedition and the Lincoln Navigator, starting this week.

Ford China insiders provided the North American company's response to Observer Net. The company stated that Novelis is one of Ford's aluminum suppliers. Since the fire three weeks ago, Ford has been closely cooperating with it and has formed a dedicated team to fully address the current situation, actively exploring all feasible alternative solutions, striving to minimize the impact and disruption caused by this incident.

Currently, there is no information indicating that the capacity risk will threaten Ford's imported products in China.

However, according to the Wall Street Journal report, a memo sent to employees showed that the停产 of SUV models would last for a week.

North American important aluminum supplier Novelis Novelis official website

Although Ford previously claimed to have other multiple aluminum suppliers, the Novelis factory in northern New York suffered extremely serious impacts from the fire. It is reported that the shutdown of this factory will not be alleviated until early next year. According to industry analysts, this factory supplies about 40% of the aluminum sheets for the U.S. automotive industry.

Currently, Ford is the largest customer of this factory. The F-150 is one of the vehicles that relies most heavily on aluminum, and also one of Ford's main profit sources in the U.S. Ten years ago, Ford changed the exterior material of the F-series pickup trucks from steel to aluminum to reduce the weight of the truck and improve fuel economy.

Ford F-150 Reuters

The F-series trucks are crucial to Ford's profitability. A report from Wells Fargo analysts last week stated that if F-series truck sales fall by 20% in the fourth quarter, Ford's revenue could decrease by $800 million (about 5.7 billion RMB).

Other analysts warned that if the F-series pickups are suspended, Ford could face up to $1 billion in operating profit loss (about 7.12 billion RMB). Currently, Ford continues to produce these pickups in its plant in Kentucky. Analysts from the consulting firm AutoForecast Solutions said: "They are focusing all their efforts to ensure normal production of all F-150s."

The Ford Louisville plant in Kentucky forced to stop production, Wall Street Journal

However, a UAW official said on social media that there may be shortages in the coming shifts at the Ford Kentucky plant. To ensure the supply of aluminum, Ford stopped work at another assembly plant in Kentucky and a plant in Michigan last week. These two plants are currently producing the Ford Escape, Lincoln Corsair, and electric F-150.

The aluminum supplier affected by the disaster, Novelis, stated that it is working to confirm whether the aluminum produced by its overseas factories and its competitors can meet Ford's standards. Another customer of the company, Toyota, stated that it has been trying to supply aluminum to its North American factories from other sources. The company's spokesperson said that Toyota Motor Company has not experienced any production interruptions so far.

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Original: https://www.toutiao.com/article/7561343056272785959/

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