They’ve been saying that they do take precedence on here for months. (They=people that say stuff on forums)

 

There was a post on one of the forums that described 21s and 22s would go down the line together as the only difference was the interior and that any orders of 21s still accepted and being built would see that happen.

Sadly my 21 was not so lucky but my dealer had already ordered my 22. As such, what I expect to see is what Donlen has stated for production start up and when trucks should start rolling out by July/August time frame with deliveries starting end of August.

A story that a third party company was finishing (or would be) all the Raceway trucks outside of the union workers was posted about a week ago. They discussed that those trucks would be used as Canadian fill orders and dealer stock in the US.

Honestly this appears to be a Rube Goldberg process that they are inventing as they go based on the "current situation".

In the end we all just want our trucks asap.

 

 

I understand that many people here on the forums are anxious about when their ordered trucks will arrive. But beyond a few facts, there are many unknowns. Some of these unknowns are how FORD is going to deal with with the backlog in demand for these vehicles. I will try to walk everyone thru this as I see it.

There are many 2021 late builds sitting in the Louisville Speedway waiting for the last parts that have chips in them. FORD is trying hard to source these parts in order to complete these builds. That would seem to be the ones that are reporting ETA of Oct 31/21.

As regards to the chips, FORD has said that they are trying to redesign these parts to accept a more common chip. I do not know if these are going to be put into 2021 trucks or only 2022 truck builds. They have also said, they are going to try to source the chips directly for their vendors.

When it comes to the 2022 builds, the Kentucky Plant start date has slipped once already. From June 4 to June 24/21. From what is reported, they only build dealer stock until the assembly line is making them to a high standard. Historically at the start of the new model year, they also build some more dealer stock in order to have some on the lots to show, but this year they could likely make the decision to go right to retail orders. Also, some of the production capacity is allocated to fleet orders. They might hold back on these builds as most of these builds are lower cost builds where they make less money and concentrate on high value retail orders.

Lets get to scheduling. In a normal production year, when they schedule, they schedule 1 week at a time. Allocation, commodities, priority, etc are all factored into which builds are picked up and scheduled. All ordered units are not just scheduled. Only the ones picked up for build, and a VIN assigned. I do not know how it goes at the start of a production year when they don't know yet when will be the first production week because they have not achieved that high level of quality when they switch from stock to retail.

Because of the chips shortage, we do not know how many shifts they are going to schedule. That makes about a 50% difference to the number of units that can be scheduled built. Of course they might be able to change which chips are sourced, and available and there might be no issue.

There are lots of decisions by FORD that could impact the number of units built. Of course the biggest issue is how many chips for their parts from their vendors will allow completed units to be delivered. They could continue to build and stockpile trucks and then put the last parts in when available. They could cut back the shifts at the plant if things are really bad. Or shut the plant down entirely until parts are available. They could do things differently than they have in the past and concentrate on retail trucks that are special ordered and basically sold and not build dealer stock and fleet until parts are more available.

I feel the pain of the members here who are waiting for their new trucks. I had to wait for my ordered truck but nothing like the uncertainty that is happening this year. No one really knows what is going to happen. All we can do is continue to report the facts as they happen and support each other.

 

A good friend of mine that has managed a Ford dealership for 15 years told me this also.

 

It's a confusing, crazy world we live in and I believe it will only become more confused and concerning. That said, some things will improve for a time, but then....

For me, I have a truck that meets most of my needs. I found it last August when I could only find 4 SDs within 500 miles of Colorado Springs, only 2 of which were diesels and this being the only one already set for 5th wheel with universal rails. So I'm blessed to have it and will learn yet another lesson in patience.

For those of you that are struggling with needing a truck but not having one, I feel for you and hope you manage to get put at the front of the line. If I could do anything about it, I would move my build back a month or two to make room for those of you that need a truck.
Hopefully things will come together for us all with only minor hiccups and we can all be happy.

Thanks to all those that have experience and connections with Ford that provide information to those of us that don't.

 

The 6/24 Job #1 date (KTP), referenced here seems to conflict with the latest update posted Monday (5/24) by an insider on the Blue Oval Forum.

 

So here's a question as I can't seem to find a simple answer and I am not versed in Ford or any other 'behind the curtain' processes or verbage. Also, this 2022 SD is the first vehicle I have ever ordered.

When should I expect to see my VIN?

 

From everything I've gathered (in normal circumstances), you would see a VIN generated upon your truck being scheduled. Apparently, Retail Orders (our ordered trucks), don't schedule until after five days of zero defects is achieved after the production run starts (Job #1).

Given this year's challenges, this process may change....

 

Thanks. So it sounds like VIN won't show up until late July or early August, correct?

 

That's exactly how I see it

 

Will we get emails with our VIN? This is the first time I have ever ordered a truck.

 

I would assume so, if you received the initial order confirmation email from Ford. This is my first retail order with Ford, I've factory ordered several cars/truck from other mfg's over the years, and this is the first time I've ever received an actual emailed confirmation from the mfg.
I was surprised! 😁

 

This is a screen shot from

my Ford confirmation email. As it states, we'll be receiving several emails of notification throughout the process. 👍

 

I read "more common chip" to mean a current chip Chips, especially processor chips, can have a relatively short market life (i.e. <3yrs). So chips used in the design of a 2017 truck could be a 6 year or older design. Chip and component manufacturer's will prioritize their capacity on the newer stuff. A redesign may improve chip availability but it will take time for the new module design to go into production, likely a year or more even on a fast track. A new processor type chip will likely have a different form factor, pin out, voltage requirements and communication protocols. This change ripples out to other components such as voltage regulators, resistors, capacitors, buffers, memory and programming. Those changes require a redesign of the printed circuit board. And all this has to happen while maintaining compatibility with the existing systems in the truck. Not a quick solution.

Ford sourcing chips directly may help as one big order has more impact then several smaller ones but I doubt this is something Ford wants to do long term.