Ford stops F-150 truck plant through Sunday over chip shortage

Ford Motor said on Thursday it will idle production of its popular F-150 pickup truck at a plant in Michigan through Sunday because of the global semiconductor chip shortage.

Ford and other automakers have stressed they are attempting to protect the production of their most profitable vehicles, but the loss of even some full-sized pickups indicates the shortage has hit the automaker.

Ford’s Dearborn, Michigan, plant will be idled from Friday to Sunday, and restart operations on Monday. A spokeswoman refused to say how much volume would be lost.

The American automaker earlier said it would assemble its flagship F-150 truck without certain parts and hold them for a “number of weeks” until they can be finished and delivered.

Ford said the recent action is part of its prior forecast that the chip shortage could cut about $1 billion to $2.5 billion off its 2021 profits.