In Production

[JoeBlowFord]

What does “blend” mean?

Blend is the assembly of all the parts to make the truck.

The blend date is the scheduled date when the assembly will begin.

In the past, the expectation was that the vehicle would be complete 1-2 days after the blend date. Currently, a truck may begin its journey down the line on the blend date, but when it rolls off the line, it may not be fully complete due to parts shortages. It could be missing a tailgate, missing a wiper control module, camera(s), etc.. In these cases, the truck is moved to a lot while it waits for parts to become available for final completion.

The truck's status will remain "In Production" from about a week before the blend date, until it is released to be shipped to the dealer, including the entire time it sits in a lot waiting on parts.

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[JoeBlowFord]

This isn't correct. I'm not sure how you're translating 56 "seconds" into "about an hour". 56 seconds is "about a minute". From the time the first piece is added to the line, it'll take about 20 hours for the fully assembled truck to leave the line.

The 56 seconds info is accurate, in that there are many trucks on the line at the same time, and every 56 seconds one is completed.

 

[Chasinsparks]

approximately 20 hours
How long does it take to build a Ford F-150? According to Justin Dugan, who hosts American Trucks' video, it takes approximately 20 hours to build an F-150. Break that down even further, and Ford sends a complete F-150 truck down the line every 53 seconds.

 

[Doggy-Dog]

That's the blend number, not the blend date, the blend date is to the left of that on the sticker, starts with a 2, then is in a YYYYMMDD format

OK. If that is the blend number then my truck should have arrived. Mine is 220210420. That comes out to April 20th. I still have a dealer estimated delivery date of May 16th. I just wonder when they are going to change that to October?

 

[JoeBlowFord]

OK. If that is the blend number then my truck should have arrived. Mine is 220210420. That comes out to April 20th. I still have a dealer estimated delivery date of May 16th. I just wonder when they are going to change that to October?

Is your truck being built in Dearborn or Kansas City?

 

[85Mustangman]

Blend is the assembly of all the parts to make the truck.

The blend date is the scheduled date when the assembly will begin.

In the past, the expectation was that the vehicle would be complete 1-2 days after the blend date. Currently, a truck may begin its journey down the line on the blend date, but when it rolls off the line, it may not be fully complete due to parts shortages. It could be missing a tailgate, missing a wiper control module, camera(s), etc.. In these cases, the truck is moved to a lot while it waits for parts to become available for final completion.

The truck's status will remain "In Production" from about a week before the blend date, until it is released to be shipped to the dealer, including the entire time it sits in a lot waiting on parts.

Excellent, concise description.

Although I haven’t seen if on this forum, perhaps there is a list of “known” subcomponent deficiencies leading to this prolonged “in production” status?

I have seen generically the “chips” shortage, but really this is a shortage of chips going into other nested sub components. Ie the PCB for a device such as a camera. This PCB is then integrated into the camera module with leads and connectors, which is the integrated into the tailgate.

Anyone know if such a list of parts shortages going somewhere?

 

[Diceman]

Excellent, concise description.

Although I haven’t seen if on this forum, perhaps there is a list of “known” subcomponent deficiencies leading to this prolonged “in production” status?

I have seen generically the “chips” shortage, but really this is a shortage of chips going into other nested sub components. Ie the PCB for a device such as a camera. This PCB is then integrated into the camera module with leads and connectors, which is the integrated into the tailgate.

Anyone know if such a list of parts shortages going somewhere?

My ETA changed from 5/28 to 6/4 this morning and I emailed my salesman and asked if he could found out why. He guessed it was semiconductor/camera issue. His tracker showed an ETA of 5/17 but when he went to the Ford dealer site it showed the 6/4 date.

 

[GreggT]

Mine went into production on 3/15, shows an ETA of 4/13, shows produced but no movement at all. It is "supposed to be" sitting on some lot waiting on a part/parts. So bottom line, mine has been showing in production now 52 days with no end in sight.

 

[JoeBlowFord]

Excellent, concise description.

Although I haven’t seen if on this forum, perhaps there is a list of “known” subcomponent deficiencies leading to this prolonged “in production” status?

I have seen generically the “chips” shortage, but really this is a shortage of chips going into other nested sub components. Ie the PCB for a device such as a camera. This PCB is then integrated into the camera module with leads and connectors, which is the integrated into the tailgate.

Anyone know if such a list of parts shortages going somewhere?

Unfortunately, no, I haven't seen such a list.

In the 3/15 Build Week thread, someone mentioned that their dealer told them partially built trucks do have an internal record of which parts each is missing. They mentioned something called an "Open Trace" whereby the dealer was able to give some "sub" status updates, like, waiting on camera, waiting on seats, etc..

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/03-15-build-week.2140/page-14#post-50967

 

[DeliveryJay]

Ford web site where you enter your order number and your vin number shows "Order confirmed date," "In Production," "Built," "Shipped," and "Delivery estimate."
OK, well, I have read that it only takes 18 hours to build a truck. So when it has been listed as "In Production" just how long does that process have to take until "built" shows?

Its hard to stop looking at the progress but at this point its not worth checking for a month at least

 

[85Mustangman]

Unfortunately, no, I haven't seen such a list.

In the 3/15 Build Week thread, someone mentioned that their dealer told them partially built trucks do have an internal record of which parts each is missing. They mentioned something called an "Open Trace" whereby the dealer was able to give some "sub" status updates, like, waiting on camera, waiting on seats, etc..

https://www.f150gen14.com/forum/threads/03-15-build-week.2140/page-14#post-50967

Thanks for the link JoeBlow,

its all academic anyway, we have as much ability to affect the outcome as we do to predict the future. As a former manufacturing Project Manager, I have a warped kind of interest in this issue and to a certain extent, some sympathy with the ford managers trying to corral these suppliers and manage the supply chain. As much as we might try, ultimately its like herding cats...

 

[Doggy-Dog]

Is your truck being built in Dearborn or Kansas City?

Being in Michigan I just thought it would be made here. Nope. The vin shows Kansas City.

 

[JoeBlowFord]

its all academic anyway, we have as much ability to affect the outcome as we do to predict the future.

Agreed. With as much as we're spoiled these days with instant gratification on purchases and delivery of products, it's hard not to be impatient with something like this. However, asking for daily statuses, and trying to decipher some process or timeline, won't do anything to put an F150 in our garages any sooner.

There are certainly those who have a legit right to be upset for how long they have been waiting, as they've been waiting 6+ months from their order date, and they aren't able to pinpoint why it's taking so long. For me, my truck left the line on 3/21, and there's no idea of when it could be delivered, my ETA of 4/9 is almost a month in the past. I'll just do my best to keep patiently waiting.

 

[JoeBlowFord]

Being in Michigan I just thought it would be made here. Nope. The vin shows Kansas City.

I won't say this with 100% certainty, but I believe it's accurate. The KC plant has been shut down since 4/19, and isn't scheduled to start back up until June. Blend dates on trucks that were assigned before the shutdown was announced, but fall after 4/19, won't even start on the line until June, and I don't believe the blend date will be updated until that happens.

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