The Elizabethtown, Kentucky facility that produces the high-strength steel frames, owned by Mexican company Metalsa S.A. de C.V., hasn’t been able to produce enough of them to keep up with Ford’s production schedule. As a result, the Blue Oval has reportedly had to cancel some planned overtime at the Dearborn and Kansas City plants that build the F-150 and send employees at those locations home early several times over the past few months.
There are some silver linings here, though.
For instance, Ford told Automotive News via email, “We are producing the all-new F-150 at full production at Dearborn Truck Plant and will be at full production this quarter at our Kansas City Assembly Plant.”
Also, even though both F-150 factories produced significantly fewer trucks in April than they did in April 2014, the trucks they have produced are selling for more than F-150s did in 2014. The average transaction price is up to $42,500 – an increase of $3,200 relative to last year, according to TrueCar.
On top of that, demand for the lighter and stronger new F-150s has caused Chevy, GMC, and Ram to offer more generous discounts on their trucks to keep Ford from gaining market share.
Derek Shiekhi's father raised him on cars. As a boy, Derek accompanied his dad as he bought classics such as post-WWII GM trucks and early Ford Mustang convertibles.
After loving cars for years and getting a bachelor's degree in Business Management, Derek decided to get an associate degree in journalism. His networking put him in contact with the editor of the Austin-American Statesman newspaper, who hired him to write freelance about automotive culture and events in Austin, Texas in 2013. One particular story led to him getting a certificate for learning the foundations of road racing.
While watching TV with his parents one fateful evening, he saw a commercial that changed his life. In it, Jeep touted the Wrangler as the Texas Auto Writers Association's "SUV of Texas." Derek knew he had to join the organization if he was going to advance as an automotive writer. He joined the Texas Auto Writers Association (TAWA) in 2014 and was fortunate to meet several nice people who connected him to the representatives of several automakers and the people who could give him access to press vehicles (the first one he ever got the keys to was a Lexus LX 570). He's now a regular at TAWA's two main events: the Texas Auto Roundup in the spring and the Texas Truck Rodeo in the fall.
Over the past several years, Derek has learned how to drive off-road in various four-wheel-drive SUVs (he even camped out for two nights in a Land Rover), and driven around various tracks in hot hatches, muscle cars, and exotics. Several of his pieces, including his article about the 2015 Ford F-150 being crowned TAWA's 2014 "Truck of Texas" and his review of the Alfa Romeo 4C Spider, have won awards in TAWA's annual Excellence in Craft Competition. Last year, his JK Forum profile of Wagonmaster, a business that restores Jeep Wagoneers, won prizes in TAWA’s signature writing contest and its pickup- and SUV-focused Texas Truck Invitational.
