Ford to Interrupt Truck Production to Free Up Tires
In an unprecedented move for a major auto maker, Ford Motor Co. will halt production at three of its truck plants for more than a week to free up 70,000 tires for use as replacements in a recall of 6.5 million Firestone tires.
The plants in St. Paul, Minn.; Edison, N.J.; and Hazelwood, Mo., will close Monday to Sept. 8 so that 15-inch tires used on production models of the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicles and Ford Ranger pickups can be sent to Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers. The plants employ about 6,000 workers, who will still get paid.
Ford Chief Executive Jac Nasser explained the announcement in a TV ad that ran during the third quarter of ABC’s “Monday Night Football,” saying: “You have my personal guarantee that all of the resources of Ford Motor Co. are directed to resolve this situation.”
Bridgestone/Firestone Inc. has recalled all P235/75R15 ATX and ATX II tires as well as 15-inch Wilderness AT tires made at a plant in Decatur, Ill. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is investigating at least 54 deaths and more than 100 injuries that may be linked to those tires.
The Ford announcement came even as a safety advocacy group filed suit in Washington to force the auto maker and Bridgestone/Firestone, a unit of Bridgestone Corp. of Japan, to widen the recall beyond those 15-inch truck tires to include 16-inch models as well.
The Center for Auto Safety, which successfully pushed in the 1970s for recalls of the Ford Pinto and 14.5 million Firestone 500 tires, contends that 12 million more Firestone tires--all ATX, ATX II and Wilderness ATs still on the road--should be recalled.
Clarence Ditlow, the center’s director, said the group filed suit because it believes it could move faster than the federal government to force a wider recall.
“We need to take all possible actions to get this defect remedied,” Ditlow said.
A Ford spokesman said that the announced recall remains sufficient and that the companies are “moving heaven and earth” to replace tires. Ford and Bridgestone/Firestone maintain that data on complaints filed by consumers suggest that only the tires under recall have shown an increase in problems with treads separating while vehicles are in motion.
The recall has created a nationwide shortage of 15-inch tires, even as Ford has authorized more than 30 brands to replace the recalled models, whether through Bridgestone/Firestone’s 1,500 directly operated stores and 8,500 licensed dealers or 2,900 Ford and Lincoln Mercury dealers.
Martin Inglis, vice president for Ford North America, said the plant shutdown will cut about 25,000 vehicles from Ford’s production.
He declined to say how much the shutdown, which represents 2.3% of Ford’s planned North American output for the third quarter, might reduce earnings. Analysts had expected Ford to earn 94 cents a share. Ford shares fell 50 cents to $27.25 on the New York Stock Exchange.
