Ford moves production back to the US

[Slash]

An article from Detroit News reports that Ford Motor Co. plans to announce details of a manufacturing shift of medium-duty trucks from Mexico to the United States.



Its F-650s and F-750s will be moved to the Ohio Assembly Plant, and the switch is planned to take place in early 2015.



According to the story, Mark Fields, who served as the company's American production president, said in 2011 that moving the commercial vehicle production in-house will streamline and strengthen the engineering and manufacturing of the next-generation medium-duty trucks.



It was also announced in December that Ford would pour $128 million into the Ohio Assembly Plant to support commercial truck production, to in-source production of its F53 motor home chassis and F59 commercial stripped chassis, Detroit News said.

http://powernationtv.com/post/ford-moves-jobs-from-mexico-to-america




I think it's a step in the right direction. They should have never left in the first place.

 

[Keef]

They should have never left in the first place.

To stay alive, they need to move wherever is most economically feasible. Apparently they've done the math and decided that tides are changing and moving production to the US will be cheaper in the long run.

 

[Slash]

Exactly! It was always going to be that way.

 

[Keef]

Not necessarily. They go where the math takes them. What about Japanese people, you think they're happy that Mazda is moving production to Mexico? But that's where the math is taking them as they try to grow their company.

 

[YSSMAN]

It's just commercial trucks, though? I can't imagine it's that many units.

For the most part, Ford's bread-and-butter vehicles aren't just built in the US - they're built in Michigan. The way it should be done. Same goes for GM, building most of their high-volume, critically lauded vehicles in Michigan as well. Chrysler, well... They build them. In places.

Interesting how many Japanese companies are moving to Mexico versus American and German brands sticking to the US. I'd love to see the numbers that they're comparing here.

 

[Slash]

It's just commercial trucks, though? I can't imagine it's that many units.

Yeah for now. It's a start. I wouldn't be surprised if they started moving more back though. Could actually do us some good.

 

[YSSMAN]

But, Ford already moved a significant portion of their production to the US over the past decade or so. I mean, like I said, the majority of their top-selling vehicles are screwed together right here in the US:

• F-150 - Dearborn/Detroit, MI and Kansas City, MO
• Expedition - Louisville, KY
• Explorer - Chicago, IL
• Escape - Louisville, KY
• Transit - Kansas City, MO
• Taurus - Chicago, IL
• Fusion - Flat Rock, MI
• Mustang - Flat Rock, MI
• C-Max - Wayne, MI
• Focus - Wayne, MI

As far as I can tell, the only Ford vehicles built outside the US that are non-commercial are the Edge (Canada) and the Fiesta (Mexico), and apparently "some" Fusions (Mexico). I'm not sure what the deciding factors are for the Fusions to be built in the US vs Mexico, or what those actual numbers may be. My guess is that it might depend on the market destination, like what they (and GM) did for decades before.

 

[Slash]

Not to mention their plants that build a lot of those respective parts. There's a truck plant right here in Buffalo.

Hat's off to Ford for staying here.

 

[Nish]

The Edge and the Flex are built here, as are the Lincoln MKX and MKT. Other than that in my home city we still make the Triton and Duratec's. Ford has been built in my city since 1904 . They re-tooled the Oakville plant not long ago pumping a lot of money in but GM and Chrysler are the main builders here.