Ford Motor confirmed that production of its Super Duty trucks reached a 20-year high in August, marking a significant recovery from supply chain disruptions that affected the company’s truck output over the previous year. The automaker also reported that F-150 pickup production achieved its highest level in two years. These gains follow severe production constraints caused by fires at aluminum supplier Novelis, which operated a critical manufacturing facility in Oswego, New York.
The fires at the Novelis plant occurred in September and November of the prior year, creating substantial headwinds for Ford given the large aluminum bodies and components used in the F-Series truck lineup. Ford spent the intervening months working to assist Novelis in restoring full production capacity at the affected facility. August marked a turning point, with Super Duty output reaching just over 39,000 units, representing the best month since March 2006.
Rob Kaffl, Ford’s head of U.S. sales, indicated that increased production would translate into higher inventory levels at dealerships in the near term, with dealers expected to see ramped-up deliveries over the following 30 to 90 days. Ford currently maintains approximately 40 days’ supply of pickup trucks, roughly half the industry standard, and management is targeting 50 to 60 days’ supply as production normalizes.
Despite the positive production trends, Ford faced broader sales headwinds, reporting an 10.3% decline in overall U.S. new vehicle sales for August compared with the year-earlier period. F-Series sales declined 10.9% through August year-to-date, with a 1.2% drop in the month itself. Ford attributed some sales weakness to the discontinuation of two vehicle models earlier in the year and planned reductions in fleet sales. The company estimated the Novelis supply disruptions would cost approximately $1.5 billion this year. U.S. retail market share excluding fleet sales remained steady at 11.7% for the month.
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