Another catastrophic fire cripples US car production… and could crush America's favorite truck
Another major fire tore through a massive metal-making plant in upstate New York — and it could cost automaker Ford billions.
On Thursday, Novelis, the world's largest recycler of aluminum and a major supplier to American automakers, said its 1.5-million-square-foot Oswego facility went up in flames. The company didn't say what caused the blaze.
Firefighters were called just before 9am after heavy smoke and flames erupted in the plant's hot-rolling area, where heated slabs are pressed into long sheets destined for automakers.
More than 80 firefighters from 20 departments battled the five-alarm blaze for nearly nine hours, using tanker trucks and multiple ladder trucks to douse the roof.
All 1,100 workers on site were safely evacuated, according to local officials.
'We're aware of the situation and working with Novelis to learn more,' a Ford spokesperson said on Friday morning.
The fire marks the second significant blaze at the plant since September and yet another blow to Ford's already-hobbled truck production.
The plant is central to Ford's most profitable car — and America's best-selling vehicle — the F-150.
A Novelis plant caught on fire twice in three months, causing another headache for Ford. The company already said it could lose up to $2billion from the first fire, and told Daily Mail it's assessing the damage (pictured: the September fire)
Ford had to slow output of its pickups in US plants because of the first fire
A decade ago, Ford bet big on lighter, more fuel-efficient body panels for its pickup — and Novelis became its key partner in producing them.
Novelis was the main supplier of that lightweight aluminum.
When the part of the plant that heats and shapes metal caught fire in September, it choked off the supply of those sheets and forced Ford to slow F-150 output.
At the time, Ford estimated the disruption would cost between $1billion and $2billion.
The September outage had already forced temporary shutdowns at auto plants in Tennessee and Michigan.
In October, Novelis told the Daily Mail it expected the plant would be operational by December, beating some analyst forecasts that said it would take until March 2026.
By mid-day Friday, the metal maker told the Daily Mail that parts of the plant were 'back up and running.'
'Novelis will continue to leverage alternate sources, including its global network of plants and industry peers, to mitigate impact,' Novelis said.
Ford CEO Jim Farley is facing down another potential production pause on the company's best-selling vehicle in America
The Ford F-150 features aluminum body panels to increase the truck's fuel efficiency. Tt's helped keep the pickup dominant in US vehicle sales for 40 years
Ford's stock dropped more then two percent Thursday. It recovered by one percent in early Friday trading.
Novelis had spent the last two months running an around-the-clock repair effort, complete with stadium lights to keep crews working through the night.
About three weeks after the September fire, Ford told the Daily Mail that it 'has been working closely with Novelis, and a full team is dedicated to addressing the situation and exploring all possible alternatives to minimize any potential disruptions.'
Aluminum production is becoming a flashpoint in the car-pricing conundrum. In March, President Donald Trump added 25 percent tariffs to all foreign-made aluminum.
He doubled the tariff to 50 percent in May, making it even more expensive for companies in need of new suppliers to find aluminum sources.
Novelis operates several plants around the world, but the Oswego plant is the largest North American operation.
