If you’re waiting for delivery of your brand new Ford F-150, we’ve got some bad news. A significant number of F-150s and Transit’s were totaled in a train crash in northeast Missouri earlier this week. Fortunately, no one was seriously injured, according to a statement issued by the Missouri Highway Patrol and brought to our attention by our colleagues at The reader.
The exact details surrounding the train crash are not known at this time, although it is known that the derailed train is currently blocking a local road in County Ralls. Judging from the photos available, it will likely take authorities at least a few days to clean up the mess. The reader reports that loaded trucks and vans were likely transported from Ford’s Kansas City assembly plant in Claycomo, Missouri.
A rough estimate of the damage shows that up to 450 vehicles were involved and we doubt any of them suffered minor and repairable damage. It’s probably safe to assume that Ford will want them back, so the automaker can get its semiconductors and put them in other vehicles on the assembly lines.
Ford has faced a number of production and delivery issues over the past few months. The global chip shortage is obviously causing big problems for the Detroit-based company, and the F-150 – its best-selling nameplate in years – appears to be the biggest casualty. F-150 and Bronco production at Dearborn was affected in June of this year due to flooding.
Meanwhile, Ford is rethinking its production strategy as it is unhappy with the amount of money it is losing on incentives for stock vehicles. The brand is even considering switching to custom vehicle construction and reducing inventory to improve cash flow.