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Ford halted F-150 production at its Dearborn Truck Plant for nearly a week after a supply problem disrupted operations, according to an internal memo viewed by Reuters. Every production crew scheduled during the stoppage was pulled from the factory floor.

The plant was dark from Thursday through Tuesday, September 29. A person familiar with the matter attributed the outage to a supply problem, although Reuters could not identify the supplier responsible for the disruption.

The latest interruption was unrelated to an aluminum shortage that had previously reduced Ford’s production. That distinction leaves the automaker confronting a separate supply problem while still trying to recover output lost during an already difficult period.

The effects were not limited to Dearborn. Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant also lost shifts during the week because of the same disruption, extending the production damage across multiple facilities responsible for F-Series trucks.

Ford sought to offset some of that lost output at Kentucky Truck Plant near Louisville. The facility increased production as the company attempted to compensate for the shortfall caused by the interruptions in Dearborn and Kansas City.

The stakes surrounding the shutdown are substantial because every day without production carries significant costs. The F-Series is particularly important to Ford, having led U.S. vehicle sales for 44 consecutive years.

The disruption adds pressure after a fire at one of Ford’s aluminum suppliers eliminated tens of thousands of units of production beginning in late 2025. Ford has spent months trying to recover the ground lost following that fire.

The sales picture has also weakened. Through August, Ford’s overall vehicle sales were down approximately 10% from the same period a year earlier, while sales of the F-Series had fallen 11%.

The F-150 is facing another issue beyond the production halt. Ford recalled 223,472 F-150 pickup trucks after the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration identified improperly secured fuel tanks on certain trucks from the 2023 through 2027 model years.

Those fuel tanks could detach while the vehicles are moving, creating the potential for fuel spills, engine stalling, fires and road hazards. Ford estimated that 1% of the vehicles covered by the recall have the defect.

Dealers will inspect the affected trucks and replace fuel tanks when necessary at no cost. The recall therefore places another operational demand on Ford as the company responds to production losses and weaker sales.

Ford has also announced a $1 billion investment in a paint shop at Kentucky Truck Plant. That announcement came days after a public dispute with the Trump administration concerning Ford’s relationships with Chinese companies.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy sent a letter to Ford President and CEO Jim Farley accusing the automaker of intertwining its future with enterprises backed by the Chinese state. Farley rejected that accusation and described the letter’s charges as “basic misunderstandings, mistruths, whatever words you want to use.”

The company’s difficulties are unfolding alongside broader competitive pressure in the U.S. auto market. Cox Automotive data cited by Reuters projects that General Motors and Ford will surrender more U.S. market share than any other automakers through the first three quarters of the year.

For Ford, the Dearborn shutdown brings several strains together at once. A supply disruption has halted production of its most prominent truck, affected shifts at another plant and forced a third facility to increase output in response.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.