Ford cuts US production

THE Ford Motor Co will cut its North American production in the fourth quarter of this year by a whopping 21 per cent – equivalent to 168,000 units – as parts of its "Way Forward" turnaround strategy.

The revised plan, which mostly affects truck production, will also reduce the company’s planned third-quarter production by 20,000 units.

For the full year, Ford now plans to produce 3,048,000 vehicles in North America (1,134,000 cars and 1,914,000 trucks), which would be a nine per cent reduction from 2005.

Further actions aimed at accelerating the Blue Oval brand’s turnaround will be announced next month.