Ford banking on potential of aluminum F-150
FORD’S new aluminum-sided F-150 will be a lot lighter and more efficient when it goes on sale later this year. But for now it’s a serious drag on profits.
Ford’s net income dropped 34 percent to US$835 million in the third quarter, largely due to the cost of launching the pickup. The new F-150, which is about 318 kilograms lighter due to its aluminum construction, is scheduled to go on sale by the end of this year.
The company closed its Dearborn truck plant for five weeks during the quarter to change over to new equipment, contributing to US$700 million in negative operating cash flow. Chief Financial Officer Bob Shanks said it was the first quarter the company has been cash flow negative since 2010.
Ford also cut back on truck sales in order to preserve inventories while it readies the new truck. That hurt pretax profits in North America, which fell 39 percent to US$1.4 billion. Sales in the region dropped 8 percent.
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