The lack of a chip has led Ford to cut car production at several plants

DETROIT – Ford is significantly cutting car production in North America in July due to a shortage of semiconductor chips affecting the global automotive industry.

The automaker said Wednesday it will suspend production at eight plants, including six in the U.S., or cut production at various times until next month and early August. Affected products range from Ford F-150 and Ford Bronco Sport to Ford Mustang and Ford Explorer.

In addition, the automaker said production of the Ford Ranger pickup and new Ford Bronco SUVs, which it recently began shipping to dealers, will decline on July 5 and 26 due to an “unrelated part shortage” at the Michigan Association. A company spokesman declined to provide further details.

The cuts are the latest for Ford, which said it expects to lose about 50 percent of car production in the second quarter due to chip production earlier this year. Ford said it expects to lose $ 2.5 billion in revenue and 1.1 million units in production this year due to the problem.

In a statement on Wednesday, Ford said the recent cuts in production due to a lack of chips were being made to “prioritize customers’ vehicles assembled without some parts due to an industry-wide semiconductor shortage ”.

Affected vehicles and plants include:

• Ford Explorer and Lincoln Nautilus SUVs: The Chicago assembly plant in Illinois will be closed for four weeks from July 5 and will operate in two shifts during the week of August 2nd.
• Ford F-150 pickup: The Dearborn Truck plant in Michigan will operate two crews for three weeks starting July 12th.
• Ford Mustang: The Flat Rock Assembly plant in Michigan will be closed for two weeks starting July 12th.
• Ford Bronco Sport roadster and the upcoming Ford Maverick minivan: The Hermosillo assembly plant in Mexico will operate from 12 shifts to the week of June 19th.
• F-150 and transit minibus: The F-150 line will drop on July 12 and 19, and the Transit line will drop on July 19 at the Kansas City assembly plant in Missouri.
• Ford Super Duty Trucks and Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator SUVs: The Kentucky Truck Plant in Kentucky will be closed for the week of July 12th and will operate in two shifts for three weeks beginning July 19th.
• Ford Escape and Lincoln Corsair: The Louisville Assembly Plant in Kentucky will operate on an abbreviated schedule on July 19th.
• Ford Edge: The Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada will not be producing the Ford Edge crossover for three weeks starting July 19th. The plant also produces the Lincoln Nautilus crossover.

The ongoing semiconductor chip shortage is expected to bring $ 110 billion in revenue to the global automotive industry in 2021, according to consulting firm AlixPartners.