How Ford plans to rebuild truck inventory after supplier disruptions

Ford Motor Co. reported its total U.S. new vehicle sales dropped by 8.8% in the first quarter compared to the year-ago period and that is partly due to inventory constraints of its top-seller the F-Series pickups.

Two fires last fall at Ford's key aluminum supplier, Novelis in New York, disrupted production of the F-Series along with some Ford SUVs, constraining inventory. Ford uses aluminum in the bodies of its pickups and SUVs.

Ford said on April 2 during its first quarter sales that the F-Series pickup remains the nation's top-selling truck, nearing the 50th year in a row of holding that title. But even the mighty F-Series saw a 16% decline in sales to 159,901 sold in the quarter.

Ford said dealers had a 55-day supply of F-Series at the end of the quarter, a 60-day supply is considered the industry standard for healthy inventory. Ford said the company is down by about 60,000 pickups from a year ago.

To fix that, Ford has announced its plan to add 50,000 F-Series pickups to the inventory in 2026. The plan includes the following:

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Ford's leadership said it is working with its aluminum supplier Novelis to get it back online — though it could be later this year before F-150 inventory stabilizes.

Novelis spokesperson Julie Groover told the Free Press on March 24 that the aluminum maker expects to have the factory operational again by the end of June, though Ford's chief operating officer indicated full inventory recovery might occur further into the second half.

Jamie L. LaReau is the senior autos writer for USA TODAY Co. who covers Ford Motor Co. for the Detroit Free Press. Contact Jamie at jlareau@freepress.com. Follow her on Twitter @jlareauan. To sign up for our autos newsletter. Become a subscriber.