Where Are Ford Trucks Made?
by Rob Wagner
The Detroit-based Ford Motor Company manufactures its F-Series and Ranger trucks throughout the world. It also has other truck versions rebranded and sometimes redesigned for foreign sales. The Vehicle Identification Number in the driver's side door jamb of each truck features a code letter that identifies the assembly plant where the vehicle was built.
The Plants
Trucks are built in Oakville, Ontario; Dearborn, Michigan; Claycomo, Missouri; Louisville, Kentucky; St. Paul, Minnesota; Edison, New Jersey; and in Mexico, Malaysia, Vietnam, Argentina and England.
North America
The Wayne, Michigan, plant produced the F-Series truck for 50 years until 2007, while the Claycomo, Missouri, plant built 490,000 trucks alone in 2004.
F-Series Sales
Production of the F-Series truck has gradually declined from 869,001 trucks sold in 1999 to 515,513 in 2008.
St. Paul Plant
Ford considered closing the St. Paul, Minnesota, assembly plant in 2010 and drop the Ranger, but it has decided to extend the truck to 2011 because sales were better than the rest of the market.
South Africa Option
Ford considered keeping the Ranger alive further by building it in Thailand but rejected the idea due to high tariffs and, in 2009, was considering a potential South Africa operation.
Shrinking
In 2006, Ford announced that 20 percent of its workforce will be laid off due to poor sales and 14 plants in the United States, Canada and Mexico will be closed.
Writer Bio
Rob Wagner is a journalist with over 35 years experience reporting and editing for newspapers and magazines. His experience ranges from legal affairs reporting to covering the Middle East. He served stints as a newspaper and magazine editor in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Wagner attended California State University, Los Angeles, and has a degree in journalism.
