Ford is cutting short its summer break again because so many people want trucks and SUVs
Jun 3, 2015, 00:19 IST
ReutersAn employee works at an assembly line at a Ford manufacturing plant in Chongqing municipality April 20, 2012.Detroit automakers typically shut down for two weeks in the summer to ensure their production lines are in top shape.This year, however, is the third year in a row that Ford will shorten employees' holiday to one week, allowing America's second-largest car maker to produce an additional 40,000 cars and trucks, including the redesigned F-150."Based on strong customer demand for the company's newest products - F-150, Edge, Escape and Explorer - six Ford assembly plants, along with supporting powertrain and stamping plants, will shut down only the week of June 29," vice president Bruce Hettle said in a statement on the company's website. "Assembly plants include Chicago, Dearborn Truck, Kansas City, Kentucky Truck, Louisville and Oakville."Despite recent recall woes, some Ford models are flying off lots. May saw record sales for the Edge, which is typically bought an average of 10 days after reaching dealers' lots, the company said in a release on Monday morning. But overall Ford vehicle sales took a hit, down two percent from the same month last year.Ford has produced a full-size pickup truck since 1948. This new and redesigned F-150 is its thirteenth iteration, and the first since 2009. This time around, the truck is 700 pounds lighter, thanks to its aluminum-heavy construction. The company boasts that the truck remains on dealer lots for an average of only 20 days.