Ford Could Run Short on Some Models Due to India Labor Dispute

By Michelle Krebs October 26, 2009

Ford could run short of Ford Edge and Ford Flex models due to a labor dispute at a supplier plant in India that has forced the automaker to close its Oakville, Ontario, assembly plant.

Ford closed the Canadian plant, which makes the Edge and Flex as well as the Lincoln MKX and newly-launched Flex-based MKT, due to a shortage of transmissions, the result of a labor dispute a supplier plant, Rico Auto Industries, in India. The strike turned violent Sunday night after a plant employee died during a protest.

Ford has been keeping tight control of its vehicle inventories this past year. As of Oct. 1, it had low supplies of the Edge and Flex, in particular, and not a huge supply of the MKX. Ford was just ramping up supply of the MKT.

The Ford Edge has a scant 47 days to turn - the number of days between a vehicle being delivered to a dealership and driven away by a buyer; the Flex, now available with the Ecoboost engine, had 51 days, according to Edmunds.com. The industry average days-to-turn is 62 days, according to Edmunds.com. The MKX had just over that at 74 days. The MKT has not been in the market long enough to measure.

The shutdown could cost as many as 5,000 vehicles in lost production. The Canadian plant normally runs two shifts and employs 3,000 workers. Workers idled due to the shutdown will receive 65 percent of their pay.

Ford Crossovers: Days to Turn 

Month	Edge	Flex	MKX
Jan - 09	98	92	123
Feb -09	134	121	135
Mar-09	123	111	114
Apr-09	109	133	102
May-09	87	123	79
Jun-09	77	153	80
Jul-09	70	140	55
Aug-09	43	77	60
Sep-09	47	51	74

Edmunds.com

Photo by Ford

Inventories of the Ford Flex are low.

Michelle Krebs:  is Editor-in-Chief of AutoObserver.com. Follow @AutoObserver on Twitter.