A late-night fire at Novelis’s Oswego, New York, aluminum plant has reportedly dealt a major blow to Ford Motor, threatening production of its top-selling F-150 pickup and potentially disrupting operations for months.
Novelis, which supplies about 40% of the aluminum sheet used by U.S. automakers, said a large portion of the Oswego plant was knocked offline until early next year after a Sept. 16 blaze destroyed its hot mill — the section that produces aluminum for vehicles. Ford, the plant’s biggest customer, relies heavily on Oswego material for the aluminum-bodied F-150, its most profitable model, according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
“This represents a serious question for the production of F-150 because that’s the aluminum that comes out of Oswego,” said aluminum-industry analyst Kaustubh Chandorkar.
Ford said it sources aluminum from multiple suppliers and has been working closely with Novelis since the fire. “A full team is dedicated to addressing the situation and exploring all possible alternatives to minimize any potential disruptions,” the company said in a statement.
The automaker is reportedly expected to disclose the effects of the outage in its earnings report later this month.
Novelis, a unit of India’s Hindalco Industries, produces over 350,000 metric tons of aluminum for automakers each year, including Ford, Toyota, Hyundai, Volkswagen, and Stellantis. The company said it’s reallocating some production to its European, Brazilian, and South Korean plants, though high U.S. import tariffs could increase costs.
The Sept. 16 blaze, which drew 175 firefighters from 26 departments, is the latest blow to an auto industry already stretched by years of supply-chain turmoil, including trade wars and chip shortages to dependence on China for key materials.
On Stocktwits, retail sentiment for Ford was ‘neutral’ amid ‘high’ message volume.
Ford’s stock has risen 36% so far in 2025.
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