Ford Motor Company stopped production of the F-150 at two of its plants last week due to reported problems with an unnamed supplier. Both the Dearborn Truck Plant and the Kansas City Assembly Plant halted production without any official comment from Ford on the disruption.
Different Shutdown Schedules at the Two Plants
The shutdown schedules differ by plant. The Detroit Free Press reported that Dearborn stopped F-150 production on September 24 and was expected to remain offline through September 30, according to UAW official Mark DePaoli. At Kansas City, the September 25 A-shift was canceled, while the B-shift’s status was still uncertain. That does not establish the same multiday shutdown for both plants. This impacts all versions of America’s most popular truck including the Raptor, PowerBoost hybrid, XL, XLT, and Lariat. When asked why production was being halted, Ford spokesman Dave Tovar stated to the Detroit Free Press that, “We don’t comment on supplier disruptions.”
Clues From Union Officials
Despite the lack of official commentary from Ford, two union officials have gone on record to offer explanations for the halt in production. Mark DePaoli from the UAW went on record with the Detroit Free Press to confirm that the halt was due to a supplier issue as well as a need to perform repairs at the Dearborn facility. Another UAW representative, Jim Fisher, stated on Friday that the A-shift at the Kansas City plant had been canceled but no word had been received yet regarding the B-shift and that production was “literally hour-by-hour on parts.”
Shades of 2025
The halt in production echoes back to 2025 when two fires at Novelis’ Oswego, NY aluminum plant interrupted supply to their largest customer, Ford. Novelis provided a more recent update in its August 5, 2026 earnings release, saying the Oswego hot mill restarted in early June and production was ramping up to meet pent-up demand and normalize shipments. Ford has struggled to catch up with F-150 production since the fires disrupted production of 2025 F-150s. While the UAW’s Fisher suggested that the current stoppage may be due to another aluminum shortage, other sources say that the halt is unrelated to the aluminum supply.
Bad Timing
The halt comes as analysts are predicting a slowdown in sales for Detroit automakers, including Ford who are expected to show 2026 Q3 sales to be lower than sales from the same period in 2025. Cox Automotive forecasts Ford’s total third-quarter sales will be down 7.1% from 2025. This is leaving some dealers pessimistic about the coming fourth quarter, citing lower inventories of F-Series trucks due at least in part to the 2025 Novelis fires.
What’s Next?
Customers with F-150 orders or interested in ordering F-150s can likely expect extended delays on delivery of their new rides. The availability of dealer stock can be expected to dwindle further. It remains to be seen how Ford will catch up to their production targets between last year’s aluminum-driven stoppages and the current one. We’ll be monitoring the situation to see when production resumes and if any further explanation is given for the shutdown.
