Ford forced to stop all F-150 production because of supplier fire

[thackney]

Ford forced to stop all F-150 production because of supplier fire
https://www.freep.com/story/money/cars/ford/2018/05/09/ford-supplier-plant-fire/594709002/

Ford suspended all production Wednesday of its profit-driving F-150 pickup, the nation's best-selling vehicle for more than 35 years, because of a "black swan" parts shortage.

The production halt was caused by a fire May 2 at a parts factory in small-town Michigan that rippled through the North American auto industry but hit Ford hardest. Production at General Motors, Fiat Chrysler and Mercedes also was disrupted.

"The impact on everybody else is going to pale compared to Ford," said Abhay (Abe) Vadhavkar, director of manufacturing, engineering and technology at the Center for Automotive Research in Ann Arbor. "For Ford, this is potentially enormous."

Joe Hinrichs, Ford executive vice president and president of Global Operations, acknowledged in a briefing late Wednesday, "We have to rebuild the whole supply chain."

F-150 trucks make up a multibillion-dollar brand that drives profits for the Dearborn-based automaker. An analyst recently calculated that the enterprise value of the F-Series trucks is greater than that of Ford overall.  Nearly 900,000 were sold in 2017 at an average cost of $46,000. And January through April sales are up 4% from the same time last year....

[thackney]

The Magnesium Advantage
http://www.meridian-mag.com/magnesium-die-casting/

At 1.8g/cm3 magnesium is the lightest of all structural materials, the 8th most abundant element on earth and 100% recyclable. It delivers:

The best strength-to-weight ratio of any commonly used structural metal.

Excellent dimensional stability as well as high impact and dent resistance.

Exceptional dampening capacity and low inertia making it ideally suited for parts that undergo frequent and sudden changes in motion direction.

The newer high purity alloys can deliver better corrosion resistance than carbon, steel and some aluminum alloys.

[Frank Cannon]

Oh no! Where will people go to get a poorly designed piece of shit truck now?

[Oceander]

Apparently this fire hit a lot of the manufacturers, including BMW. 

[thackney]

Oh no! Where will people go to get a poorly designed piece of shit truck now?

FORD F-150 IS THE 2018 MOTOR TREND TRUCK OF THE YEAR
http://www.motortrend.com/news/ford-f-150-2018-truck-of-the-year/

Ford: F-series is best-selling truck for 40 years
http://money.cnn.com/2017/01/04/autos/ford-f-150-truck-40-years/index.html

The Ford F-Series is the best-selling vehicle in the world this year
http://www.foxnews.com/auto/2017/08/17/ford-f-series-is-best-selling-vehicle-in-world.html

[jmyrlefuller]

And just as they announced they were getting rid of most of their non-truck line, too. Darn.

[Cyber Liberty]

Nobody has the luxury of having redundant suppliers anymore.  The manufactures did a bang-up job of fine-tuning the bottom line.  Good work, green eyeshade guys.

[Oceander]

Nobody has the luxury of having redundant suppliers anymore.  The manufactures did a bang-up job of fine-tuning the bottom line.  Good work, green eyeshade guys.

I think it has more to do with the nature of the material, magnesium, and less with limiting vendors.

[Elderberry]

Magnesium in car production - a weighting game

https://www.just-auto.com/analysis/magnesium-in-car-production-a-weighting-game_id176723.aspx



---Volume car producers using magnesium, too

Way back in 2006, GM started using die-cast magnesium for the engine cradle in its Z06 Corvette. GM currently operates a VSC (vertical squeeze-casting) machine designed to produce more affordable magnesium castings at its technical centre in Shanghai.

Ford began using magnesium in the liftgate of the 2010 Lincoln MKT, and the third-row passenger seats for the 2011 Ford Explorer. The 2015 Ford Mondeo also incorporates a magnesium inner tailgate structure for the four- and five-door models that deliver a weight saving of approximately 40 percent compared with a traditional steel equivalent. Three consecutive generations of Ford F-150 full-size truck use a die-cast magnesium alloy radiator support.

Volkswagen uses magnesium in its gearboxes and clutch housings in a number of models, including the Golf.

The 2017 Chrysler Pacifica minivan incorporates a magnesium crossbeam inside the instrument panel and rear liftgate inner. Chrysler also uses magnesium for certain interior parts fitted to its Wrangler, Liberty, Compass and Grand Cherokee models.

Is the tide turning in favour of magnesium?

While there has always been an appetite for magnesium in car production – particularly given the current industry requirement for lightweighting without compromising safety or performance - its application looks set to remain limited to certain parts of the car. The cost-benefit equation will also remain an important consideration.

[Suppressed]

I think it has more to do with the nature of the material, magnesium, and less with limiting vendors.

With other vendors, this would be a blip, the way it is for the parts for which they have other vendors. Those models are unaffected.  But having a single large source for some parts means vulnerability.