On the Dash:
- Ford says the second fire at the Novelis Oswego plant will not affect its profit outlook.
- Novelis continues supplying aluminum to Ford, which relies heavily on the material for its F-Series trucks.
- Novelis plans to build a new Alabama facility to reinforce the U.S. aluminum supply chain starting in 2026.
Ford Motor Co. said on Friday that the second fire at the Novelis aluminum plant in Oswego will not affect its profits. In a joint statement with Novelis, the automaker said the fire was “swiftly contained” and that the cold mill and heat-treatment operations are running normally. The company also confirmed that Novelis continues to ship finished material to Ford.
The Novelis plant supplies about 40% of the aluminum sheet used by U.S. automakers. Ford is one of the plant’s largest customers and depends heavily on the plant’s aluminum supply for its F-Series pickup trucks, the company’s top-selling and most profitable vehicle line.
The first fire on Sept. 16 forced Ford to scale back production output and slash its projected profits by $2 billion. Despite the second incident, the company continues to project earnings of $6 billion to $6.5 billion before interest and taxes for 2025.
In an effort to recover lost production, Ford will increase output of the gasoline-powered F-Series pickups by 50,000 units in 2026. In addition, Novelis plans to construct a new plant in Alabama to help strengthen the U.S. aluminum supply chain. The facility is expected to begin operations in the second half of 2026.
