This Morning in Metals: Ford to temporarily idle production of F-150 at Dearborn plant
This morning in metals news: Ford Motor Co. will idle production of its F-150 truck at its Dearborn plant until Sunday; the blockage of the Suez Canal by container vessel Ever Given is having a massive impact on global trade; and, lastly, the UK government is looking at all options to prevent the collapse of Liberty Steel.
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Ford to temporarily idle F-150 plant
Ford Motor Co. yesterday said it will idle production of the F-150 at its plant in Dearborn, Michigan, through Sunday, Reuters reported.
The move is yet another idling stemming from the global semiconductor shortage. The shortage has been exacerbated by a fire that damaged a major chip-producing plant in Japan last week.
Intel announced plans to invest $20 billion to build two new factories for the manufacture of chips.
Suez Canal blockage continues
The blockage of the Suez Canal by massive container vessel Ever Given this week is exerting a widespread impact on global commerce.
Blockage of the critical shipping fulcrum is impacting approximately $400 million per hour in trade, CNBC reported, citing Lloyd’s List.
UK government monitoring Liberty Steel situation
UK Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said the government is considering all its options to prevent the collapse of Liberty Steel, the BBC reported.
Liberty Steel’s finances became precarious after the collapse of Greensill Capital. Greensill served as the top financial backer of Liberty Steel’s parent group, GFG Alliance. As Stuart Burns wrote earlier this month, some suppliers had already started to ask for cash upfront to supply GFG’s mills. For example, Bloomberg previously reported ArcelorMittal asked for cash upfront to supply GFG.
Speaking to the House of Commons, Kwarteng said he had met with Liberty Steel management several times over the last few weeks, the BBC reported.
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