Ford to close Flat Rock Assembly Plant for additional 2 weeks due to chip shortage

DETROIT (FOX 2) - Ford Motor Co. will shutter several plants this spring, including the Flat Rock Assembly Plant, due to a semiconductor shortage.

The Flat Rock plant will be closed the weeks of April 19 and April 26. The plant is closed this week, too.

RELATED: Ford to build F-150 trucks without some computers due to semiconductor shortage

Other North American plant closures include the Chicago Assembly Plant and Kansas City Assembly Plant during the weeks of April 19 and 26. Also, the Kentucky Truck Plant will be closed the weeks of April 26 and May 3, and super shifts will not be worked from May 8 through the week beginning May 31. Additionally, the Ohio Assembly Plant will produce only super-duty chassis cabs and medium-duty trucks during the weeks April 19 and 26.

In addition to the U.S. closures, Ford Otosan, the company's joint venture in Turkey, intends to temporarily stop production of the Transit Custom, including Tourneo, and Transit 2-Ton vans at our production facility in Gölcük, Turkey, from April 19 to June 13. This period includes a pull ahead of two planned weeks of annual summer shutdown and a national holiday week, Ford officials said.

The semiconductors are the brains of new cars. Some new vehicles have as many as 12 microchips.

The spring 2020 shutdown to curb the spread of COVID-19 has led to manufacturers trying to play catch up.

A large vessel blocking the Suez Canal and a fire at a Japanese chip plant also have caused issues for automakers.