Keeping America’s most popular pickup rolling off the assembly line hasn’t been easy for Ford lately. After spending much of the past year dealing with an aluminum shortage, the automaker is facing another disruption affecting F-150 production.
This time, Ford has halted production at its Dearborn Truck Plant in Michigan, while operations at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri have also been disrupted. Thousands of workers are being affected as the company waits for the parts it needs.
Exactly what’s missing is unclear, as Ford has declined to discuss the supplier disruption publicly, and reports from inside the company and the United Auto Workers paint a somewhat complicated picture of the situation.
Reuters reports that the latest problem is unrelated to the aluminum shortage that previously hammered F-150 production. Whatever the culprit turns out to be, it’s another headache involving one of Ford’s most important products.
Dearborn F-150 Production Comes To A Stop
According to a Ford memo reviewed by Reuters, production crews at the Dearborn Truck Plant were canceled beginning September 24. The shutdown was expected to last nearly a week, although reports differ slightly on the planned restart date.
Reuters says crews were canceled through September 29, while UAW Region 1A director Mark DePaoli told the Detroit Free Press that production was expected to stay down through September 30. DePaoli said roughly 3,500 to 4,000 workers at the facility had been told to stay home.
The union official added that Ford was also taking advantage of the downtime to perform facility repairs. Ford spokesperson Dave Tovar declined to provide details, telling the Detroit Free Press that the company doesn’t comment on supplier disruptions.
Kansas City Is Having Problems, Too
The trouble isn’t confined to Michigan. F-150 production at Ford’s Kansas City Assembly Plant has also lost multiple shifts, although Transit van production at the same facility has continued.
UAW Local 249 Bargaining Chair Jim Fisher told the Detroit Free Press that 15 F-150 shifts had been canceled at Kansas City since September 1. Around half of the plant’s approximately 8,600 employees work on F-150 production.
Fisher said Ford had cited a “lack of parts” and suggested aluminum could be responsible. Reuters, however, cited a person familiar with the situation who said the latest supplier issue is separate from the aluminum shortage, and the publication was unable to identify the supplier at the center of the disruption.
Ford has reportedly increased truck production at its Kentucky Truck Plant during the disruption. That facility builds Super Duty pickups rather than the F-150.
Ford Is Still Recovering From Its Last Supply Problem
Ford is still trying to recover production lost after fires at aluminum supplier Novelis disrupted supplies beginning in late 2025. Aluminum is extensively used in the F-150’s body, making the shortage particularly costly for Ford.
Through August, Reuters reports Ford’s overall U.S. vehicle sales were down roughly 10 percent year over year, while F-Series sales had fallen 11 percent. The company had been working to recover lost truck production before the end of 2026.
Even a relatively short shutdown matters when the vehicle involved is the F-150. The truck sits at the heart of Ford’s U.S. business, meaning every canceled shift represents valuable pickups that aren’t reaching dealerships.
For now, the biggest unanswered question is exactly which part has brought production to a halt. After the problems Ford has already faced keeping F-150 assembly lines moving, “lack of parts” is probably one phrase workers would be happy not to hear again anytime soon.