The semiconductor shortage continues to plague the automotive industry, resulting in Ford stopping production of the country’s best-selling trucks—the F-150 series.
A global crisis in multiple industries, the temporary shutting down of the Ford plant in Claycomo, Missouri, will be the second pause in production for Ford this month.
A production stoppage occurred in early February at the Michigan and Missouri assembly plants. The F-150 plant in Dearborn will continue its production during this pause.
According to United Auto Worker Local 249, the weeklong shutdown will require temporary layoffs.
The production stoppage in February affected most of Ford’s top-selling vehicles, including the Ranger, Explorer, Mustang Mach-E and Lincoln Aviator at the company’s plants in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, and Mexico.
“The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford’s North American plants – along with automakers and other industries around the world,” the automaker reported.
“Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect.”
According to Statista, the consumer data website, the Ford F-series was the best-selling light truck in the United States in 2021 with about 726,000 sales. Its 14th generation was released in 2020, with a fully electric version of the vehicle unveiled in 2021.
Here’s the list of the top-25 best-selling vehicles in the United States in 2021 in reverse order:
25. Honda Pilot, 143,062; 24. Toyota 4Runner, 144,696; 23. Ford Escape, 145,415; 22. Hyundai Tucson, 150,949; 21. Subaru Outback, 154,623;
20. Subaru Forester, 154,723; 19. Chevrolet Equinox, 165,323; 18. Mazda CX-5, 168,383; 17. Tesla Model Y, 172,700; 16. Honda Accord, 202,676;
15. Jeep Wrangler, 204,610; 14. Ford Explorer, 219,871; 13. GMC Sierra, 248,924; 12. Toyota Corolla, 248,993; 11. Toyota Tacoma, 252,520;
10. Honda Civic, 263,787; 9. Toyota Highlander, 264,128; 8. Jeep Grand Cherokee, 264,444; 7. Nissan Rogue, 285,602; 6. Toyota Camry, 313,795;
5. Honda CR-V, 361,271; 4. Toyota RAV4, 407,739; 3. Chevrolet Silverado, 519,774; 2. Ram Pickup, 569,388; 1. Ford F-series, 726,004.
James Raia, a syndicated columnist in Sacramento, California, publishes a free weekly automotive podcast and electronic newsletter. Sign-ups are available on his website, www.theweeklydriver.com. He can be reached via email: james@jamesraia.com.
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I ordered a new F-150 lariat Hybrid on November 1st, and the last time I spoke with the deals in was in group 2 in line for production. That’s was 4 weeks ago. Three days ago I got an apology email from Ford. Not sure if the trim level has anything to do with the delay. I look at it like this every month that goes by is more time to save up for the down payment. But the waiting sucks.
Don’t understand why the Ford F series is the top selling pickup. I kinda liked the Chevy Silverado better I had. My F 150 hybrid don’t seem to be getting the 24 MPG yet. The Powerboost engine is more powerful then the small 8 cyl in the Silverado.
Eventually, they will pick up on the idea that they should maintain some in-house production of these chips, meaning: inside the US. I’m afraid they are slow learners however and it may take several shortages to come to this conclusion. Or, maybe this is their excuse for the astronomical pricing we currently enjoy. If this is the case, the solution is even farther down the line.