Steel Markets
Ford Announces Short-Term Idle of 4 Plants
Written by Sandy Williams
October 23, 2016
Ford Motor Co. announced last week it will temporarily idle four plants including the Kansas City assembly plant that produces the F-150 pickup truck.
The temporary shutdowns are a result of a slowdown in the market and will help Ford match production to demand as well as meet end-of-year inventory targets.
In the U.S., the Kansas City Assembly plant will be closed for one week beginning Oct. 24 and the Louisville plant will be down the week of Oct. 31. The Louisville plant builds the Escape and Lincoln MKC sport utility vehicles. In Mexico, Ford will idle two plants, Hermosillo and Cautitian, that assemble the Fusion sedan and Fiesta subcompact.
The announcement came as Ford restarted the Flat Rock Assembly plant in Michigan after a one week shutdown. Flat Rock produces the Ford Mustang.
“During our second-quarter financial call, we said we expected the overall retail industry to decline in the second half of the year from the same period last year,” said Ford spokesperson Kelli Felker in an email to Reuters. “We also said to expect to see some production adjustments in the second half — this is one of them.”
Ford sales in September slipped 8 percent to 204,447 units.
Sandy Williams
Read more from Sandy WilliamsLatest in Steel Markets
Housing starts slide in August, but interest rate cut should help
Housing starts slowed in the US in August as affordability challenges and cautious builder sentiment weighed on new construction activity.
Trading firms Mercuria and Tata International partner in joint venture
Geneva-based global commodities trader Mercuria is set to acquire a majority stake in Tata International, according to a report in India's Economic Times.
Glenfarne Alaska LNG and POSCO ink preliminary partnership
Glenfarne Alaska LNG and POSCO signed a preliminary strategic agreement during the GasTech Conference in Milan on Thursday.
Steel export volumes remain weak through July
Following a 3% decline in June, the amount of steel shipped outside of the US edged up 1% in July to 623,000 short tons. July was the sixth-lowest monthly export rate since the COVID-19 pandemic, and...
Hot-rolled market participants say ‘doldrums’ to roll on through year-end
Participants in the hot-rolled steel sheet market expect the market to remain subdued through the end of the year.