Reuters is reporting that Ford will be idling its Focus plant for an extra two weeks by the end of the year. The shutdown, which comes in addition to the normal holiday idle, is in response to slumping sales for the Focus compact and C-Max hybrid cars made at the Wayne, MI facility.
Ford has also announced temporary plant shutdowns at other plants, most notably those in Kentucky Mexico, to manage inventory of its Escape and Lincoln MKC SUVs, the Fusion and Lincoln MKZ sedans, and the Fiesta small car.
According to Fortune, Ford also said Thursday that it would be cutting inventories because it expects a slight downturn in the U.S. new vehicle market in 2017.
Car sales for the Detroit Three automakers plunged an average of 11 percent in 2015 while truck/SUVs sales jumped an average of 15 percent last year. So far, 2016 doesn’t suggest a change in these consumer preferences thanks to consistently low gas prices.
