Finally seeing the light, Ford plans to build Ranger at Michigan Assembly

[kscarbel2]

The Detroit News / August 26, 2015

Ford Motor Co. wants to resurrect its once-popular Ranger truck in North America and build the midsize pickup at the Michigan Assembly Plant, according to sources with knowledge of Ford’s plans.

The Dearborn automaker has entered contract negotiations with the United Auto Workers with plans to bring the Ranger to the plant in Wayne in 2018, said the sources, who couldn’t speak publicly because of the sensitive nature of the talks. They said the final decision is up for discussion in the talks now underway, and must be agreed to with the union and then Ford’s board of directors.

The Ranger — which would replace the Focus and C-Max after production of those cars likely heads to Mexico — represents the kind of potentially high-profit, high-volume vehicle the union desires and likely would demand before members would ratify any contract proposal. The two sides must agree that the Ranger would be a good fit for the plant and its nearly 4,500 workers. For Ford, the pickup would mark the return to a small — but growing — midsize truck segment that would help it meet stricter fleet-wide fuel economy standards demanded by the federal government.

“There’s a real hunger for midsize trucks right now,” said Karl Brauer, senior analyst for Kelley Blue Book. “Once upon a time, there were a lot of midsize trucks in this market. The ones that are available are cashing in on the demand.”

New offerings like General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon helped midsize truck sales rise recently after a long decline. But through the first seven months of 2015, the segment represented just 2.1 percent of the overall market, according to Edmunds.com.

It’s unclear if the Ranger will be the only product brought into the 5 million-square-foot Wayne plant. Five vehicles currently are built there — the Ford Focus, Focus Electric, Focus ST, C-Max Hybrid and C-Max Energi — and workers made about 265,000 vehicles last year.

Ford in July said it was pulling production of all its vehicles out of Michigan Assembly in 2018, but both the union and automaker have said repeatedly that they expect to avoid shuttering the plant and hope to introduce a new product there.

“We actively are pursuing future vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations,” spokeswoman Kristina Adamski said in an emailed statement. Ford does not comment on future products.

Ford now builds the Ranger in South Africa, Argentina, Thailand and Nigeria for 180 overseas markets. Ford hasn’t imported the small trucks to the U.S. in part because of a 25-percent tariff on foreign-built pickups, known as the “chicken tax.” The tax got its name because it was imposed in the 1960s as payback for a German tariff on chicken.

The last North America-built Ranger was part of a fleet order for Orkin Pest Control and rolled off the assembly line in December 2011 at Ford’s now-shuttered Twin Cities Assembly Plant in Minnesota.

“It was a huge seller for them for a while,” Brauer said.

Revival forecast for segment

The midsize pickup market has shrunk considerably over the past three decades, from a peak of about 1.4 million sold in the U.S. in 1986 to a low of about 227,000 in 2013, according to Edmunds.com. Industry analysts expect the segment will grow to around 300,000 in the coming years.

Through the first seven months of the 2015, Toyota’s Tacoma holds 50.1 percent of the market share, according to Edmunds. It’s followed by the Colorado at 23.1 percent, the Nissan Frontier at 18.5 percent and the Canyon at 8.4 percent.

“The reintroduction of the Colorado and Canyon ended the precipitous market-share slide that the compact truck segment was on,” said Jeremy Acevedo, an Edmunds.com analyst.

Ford sold more than 6.6 million Rangers in the U.S. over its 29-year history. Sales peaked in 1999 at around 350,000 but dropped steadily until its final year in 2011, when Ford sold 70,832.

“It was the same basic truck from the mid-’90s; it was markedly smaller than other midsize trucks, less powerful, less comfortable and less refined,” Brauer said. “It just never evolved. Basically, it became obsolete.”

Ford at the time was coming out of the recession and looking to streamline its product lineup, and it already had committed to a number of new designs for other vehicles for both its Ford and Lincoln brands.

“There were more important vehicles for them to launch that were more important for their money,” said Autotrader.com senior analyst Michelle Krebs.

The biggest concern in resurrecting the Ranger would be that it would cut into sales of the full-size Ford F-150, analysts say. But some argue the two segments are distinct enough to draw two separate shoppers. The F-150 is the best-selling vehicle in the U.S.

“It’s a very different customer,” Brauer said. “There’s a lot of people who like the idea of having an easy-to-drive, easy-to-park truck that’s less expensive.”

Average selling prices for midsize trucks though the first seven months of this year is about $13,500 less than full-size trucks, Edmunds.com says.

The introduction of a more fuel-efficient truck — the Colorado can get about three more miles a gallon than Chevy’s most fuel-efficient full-size Silverado — would also be beneficial to Ford as it and other automakers try to achieve a federally mandated lineup average of 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025.

Although Ford is introducing an updated 2016 Ranger overseas, analysts say a North American Ranger would likely need an upgrade by 2018 to include more safety and technology features.

Plant has built myriad autos

The UAW and Ford in the coming weeks are expected to discuss whether the Michigan Assembly Plant is the best fit for a midsize truck. Since it opened in 1957, the plant has produced everything from trucks and SUVs like the F-Series, Ford Bronco, Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, to small cars like the Focus and C-Max.

The plant got new life after the industry meltdown in 2008-09. Former Ford CEO Alan Mulally pledged to the UAW to bring new production to Wayne in exchange for a competitive labor agreement.

Under terms of a $5.9 billion loan from the U.S. Energy Department, Michigan Assembly received a $550 million overhaul to make it a flexible plant capable of producing a number of green, fuel-efficient cars.

Despite the overhaul, the plant has struggled recently as demand for small, hybrid and electric vehicles has nosedived.

In January, President Barack Obama came to the plant to tout the resurgent American automotive industry, even as the plant was closed that week. In April, the automaker said it would cut a shift there, indefinitely laying off 673 hourly employees and 27 salaried employees on the “C Crew.”

Potentially converting the plant to build midsize trucks “would really be making a statement about where the market is,” Brauer said.

“I don’t think you’d see someone like Ford jump into midsize trucks and be regretting it in a few short years.”

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[kscarbel2]

Ford, UAW in talks to revive Ranger sales, output in U.S.

Automotive News / August 26, 2015

Ford Motor Co. is in discussions with the UAW about bringing the Ranger midsize pickup back to the U.S. market, a person with knowledge of the talks said late Tuesday.

The company is considering a plan to build the truck at Michigan Assembly Plant near Detroit after production of the Focus and C-Max ends in 2018, the source said.

The proposal, which would need to be approved by Ford’s board of directors, as well as the union, would give the automaker a smaller and less expensive complement to the F-series that it has lacked since discontinuing the U.S. Ranger in 2011.

Ford still sells the Ranger in nearly 200 markets overseas.

As transaction prices for the F-150 have risen, so has the opportunity for a midsize pickup to fit below the F-150 without detracting from it.

Ford and Fiat Chrysler's Ram brand have abandoned the midsize pickup market in recent years, leaving it largely to the Toyota Tacoma and the recently reintroduced Chevrolet Colorado and GMC Canyon.

The Detroit News first reported the Ranger discussions Tuesday evening. A Ford spokeswoman declined to comment on the plan.

The UAW is negotiating new wage and benefit contracts with Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, with jobs and employment security a top priority. The union's contract with the Detroit 3 expires on Sept. 14 and the pace of talks is expected to accelerate over the coming weeks.

“We will move production of the next-generation Ford Focus and C-MAX, which currently are built at Michigan Assembly Plant, beginning in 2018,” Ford said in an emailed statement Tuesday. “We actively are pursuing future vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the upcoming negotiations.”

UAW leaders have said they are confident Ford will continue to operate Michigan Assembly past 2018 with different products. The Ranger likely would not be enough by itself to keep the plant running, meaning other vehicles would need to be assigned to it as well.

In order to sell the Ranger in the U.S., Ford would need to build it domestically to avoid the 25 percent tariff on imported trucks known as the chicken tax.

Automakers have sold 211,797 midsize pickups this year through July, compared to 1.2 million full-size trucks. The Tacoma accounts for about half of all midsize pickup sales in the U.S. this year.

Ford sold nearly 350,000 Rangers to U.S. buyers in 1999, its peak year. But volume dropped to 70,832 in 2011, when the plant that built it in St. Paul, Minn., closed.

Ford’s truck group marketing manager, Doug Scott, told USA Today last year that Ford was considering bringing a smaller pickup back to the U.S. but that its price and size would need to be different enough from the F-150 to make it worthwhile.

"We're looking at it,” Scott told the paper. “We think we could sell a compact truck that's more like the size of the old Ranger, that gets six or eight more miles per gallon [than a full-size truck], is $5,000 or $6,000 less, and that we could build in the U.S. to avoid the tariff on imported trucks.”

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Good to see that I probably won't have to buy a GM product when my '99 wears out in a decade or three!

But Ford made one of their few recent tactical mistakes in killing the Ranger in North America... The Saint Paul plant that built the Ranger is now a pile of rubble atop unsold real estate. Ford could have kept that plant open, tooled it up to build the current Ranger, and GM would never have gained a foothold in the small pickup market!

[Bigdogtrucker]

They should of never quit making the Ranger and CV, even it were for fleet sales alone.

[kscarbel2]

Ford Said to Weigh Returning Bronco, Ranger Production to U.S.

Bloomberg / August 26, 2015

Ford Motor Co. is considering returning the Bronco sport utility vehicle and Ranger compact pickup to the U.S., where truck demand is booming, said a person familiar with company’s plans.

The two models would be built at a factory in Wayne, Michigan, that currently makes small cars, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing product plans. The move would help Ford preserve some U.S. union jobs amid contract negotiations. The Dearborn, Michigan-based company may assemble the Focus and C-Max in Mexico, a person familiar with the matter had said.

The return of the Ranger and Bronco, which drew unwelcome renown as O.J. Simpson’s getaway car two decades ago, gives Ford key models to compete with offerings by Toyota Motor Corp. and General Motors Co. The models would also secure jobs for the United Auto Workers union, which is in negotiations for a new contract to replace one that expires next month.

“We will move production of the next-generation Ford Focus and C-Max, which currently are built at Michigan Assembly Plant, beginning in 2018,” Kristina Adamski, a spokeswoman, said in an e-mailed statement. “We actively are pursuing future vehicle alternatives to produce at Michigan Assembly and will discuss this issue with UAW leadership as part of the negotiations.”

She declined to comment on future products for the factory. Brian Rothenberg, a spokesman for the Detroit-based UAW, declined to comment on the negotiations.

The Detroit News reported earlier on the Ranger plans.

It stands to reason that the new Bronco could be a rebadged global market body-on-frame Ford Everest? (it shares a common chassis with the Ranger)

[HeavyGunner]

It's good to see something being built in the U.S. but we will see how long it takes the union to make it no longer cost effective to build here like most other vehicles. In the first article posted it said part of the negotiations with the union was to see if the ranger was a good fit for them?! Seriously?! Either you want work or you don't. In the real world since ford owns the plant, the tools and the product that you're building you should build whatever the hell they tell you to if you want to work there. Not negotiate whether or not it's a good fit.

[Red Horse]

Wishful thinking guys- The new world Ranger is a great vehicle-as is its Everest SUV counterpart. My bet is we won't see either

This quote says it all IMO:

Ford’s truck group marketing manager, Doug Scott, told USA Today last year that Ford was considering bringing a smaller pickup back to the U.S. but that its price and size would need to be different enough from the F-150 to make it worthwhile.

"We're looking at it,” Scott told the paper. “We think we could sell a compact truck that's more like the size of the old Ranger, that gets six or eight more miles per gallon [than a full-size truck], is $5,000 or $6,000 less, and that we could build in the U.S. to avoid the tariff on imported trucks.”

the F-150 is a cash cow and they won't trade a 150 sale for a lesser cost Ranger. If they build anything it will NOT be a BOF truck but rather some cheesebox based on a Transit connect or some other econo box I'm afraid.

Take goodcare of your old Rangers boys!

[thomastractorsvc]

It's good to see something being built in the U.S. but we will see how long it takes the union to make it no longer cost effective to build here like most other vehicles. In the first article posted it said part of the negotiations with the union was to see if the ranger was a good fit for them?! Seriously?! Either you want work or you don't. In the real world since ford owns the plant, the tools and the product that you're building you should build whatever the hell they tell you to if you want to work there. Not negotiate whether or not it's a good fit.

I think that is why so many people are against unions now.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

If it wasn't for the unions working together with Ford, the F650 and F750 would still be built in Mexico. The old era of confrontational labor relations is largely over- Both Ford and the UAW recognize each other's right to exist and work together for their common benefit. As a Ford stockholder, I'm quite happy with that profitable relationship!

[RowdyRebel]

With the obscene cost of new "full size" trucks, the "compact" needs to be considerably less expensive, not just $5-6K. That's why Ranger sales were on the decline...for what a decently equipped Ranger could be had, you could get into a basic full-size F150...and the fuel mileage wasn't all that different between the two. Compact trucks ought to be affordable...so people who can't afford to buy or fuel a full size truck but still need to haul stuff around can afford to get one. A basic model compact truck ought to be in the $10K range, and fully tricked out with every possible option MAYBE tickling $20K, but try to keep it below that. Fuel economy? My '92 Ranger (v6/5-speed) gets 25 mpg driving it like I stole it. No reason a new one can't be 30+...40 if you try to "save" fuel...and still be fun to drive. Ford also needs to keep a manual transmission as an option for die-hards like myself who would rather shift gears in a rusty old beater that is ugly as sin than drive a new truck with an automatic. Ford lost any chance I'd buy a new vehicle from them when they discontinued the manual transmission in their trucks. As the owner of 3 Ford trucks, buying a competitor's truck never crossed my mind as even the most remote possibility...until I'd HAVE to in order to keep my manual transmission. The Ranger should have one, even as just a special order option.

[Freightrain]

When an F150 cost you $40K(platinum is $51K)........there needs to be another option. I know the mini scene was big 20 yrs ago. Now, not so much. Everyone wants a monster truck to take their kids to school. Crazy.

I have no interest(or money) for a new truck. I'll drive my '89 F150 as long as the wheels still turn. I was thoroughly surprised the other day, at the gas station, a new F150 rolled in. It looked odd in a way. It had "normal" sized wheesl(maybe 16"?) and you could actually reach OVER the bedside and get to what was inside the bed. It was a "Sport"(decal on the side), shortbed, std cab. Likely a V6 too? Just a nice, clean, usable truck. I actually LIKED it, and could see myself driving it. Not likely to happen, but if it would be a long bed, V8 with a 5spd I would start looking.

I've currently collected pieces to convert mine from automatic to 5spd. I've hated that AOD since I bought the truck, but beggars can't be choosers. Hopefully in the next month I'll have a handle to row again.

Don't know why they got away from building trucks that were accessible? Usable? Why the 22" wheels and the 5ft tall bedsides? WTF?

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Ford makes cars in 4 sizes (platforms), no reason Ford can't do the same with trucks: Ranger, F150, Super Duty !

[HeavyGunner]

I think that is why so many people are against unions now.

Exactly. Unions in my opinion used to be a good thing around the early 1900's when employers were horrible to their employees. Now unions just want more , more , more to do less and charge way more to do it.

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Macks are union made.

[kscarbel2]

Today's UAW is desperate, trying to justify its continued existence in an era where unions have proven to be unnecessary.

Zenon C.R. Hansen knew how to deal with the union of the 1960s, but the union leadership of the 1980s damaged both Mack Trucks and its Allentown members.

(U.S.-built non-union vehicles: Acura, BMW, Honda, Hyundai, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Subaru, Tesla and Toyota)

[TeamsterGrrrl]

Given the low wages ($12-14 an hour) in the non-union plants, workers damn well still need unions!

[kscarbel2]

Given the low wages ($12-14 an hour) in the non-union plants, workers damn well still need unions!

$12 to $14 an hour in non-union U.S. auto plants.............my friend, I'm not sure how you are arriving at that.

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Auto workers make more in right-to-work Alabama than anywhere else in the country

An estimate by the Center for Automotive Research found that the non-unionized Daimler Automotive Group employees at Alabama’s Mercedes plant in Vance, near Tuscaloosa, make more per hour than any other auto workers in the country.

The Center for Automotive Research compiled estimates of the hourly labor costs, including wages, benefits, and legacy costs at each of the major U.S. automakers. So, while the numbers below may not be the exact amount on a worker’s paycheck at the end of every pay period, it is a reflection of the many types of compensation a worker would receive at that employer.

Labor costs per employee at Daimler AG in Alabama average $65 per hour, including benefits, compared to the $58 per hour at GM, $57 per hour at Ford, and $48 per hour at Fiat Chrysler, all of which are highly-unionized.

In last place are BMW compensating only $39 per hour, and Volkswagon AG at $38 per hour.

Alabama’s other major automotive manufacturers, Honda and Hyundai came in at $48 and $41, respectively.

The United Auto Workers union has long targeted Mercedes as its next conquest. A vote to unionize the Vance plant was narrowly defeated in 2014.

Alabama is a right to work state, meaning that employers can’t require union membership as a condition of employment. However, if unionization of the Mercedes plant had been successful all workers would, by requirement of contract, be represented by the UAW, not just those who are union members. Right-to-work advocates say this caveat strips the rights of workers who wish not to be a member of a union, and silences their voices.

Unions were once widely viewed as a positive voice for workers who did not have the ability to stand up for themselves. But as workplaces became safer and wages more fair, unions started shifting from workplace representation to heavy political involvement to accomplish their goals. At only 7% of the private workforce, unions are now a shadow of their former selves, although they remain a powerful bloc in the Democratic Party.

Between the Mercedes, Honda, and Hyundai plants, Alabama has become a strong player in automotive manufacturing and the state’s right-to-work laws are often credited with having played a major part in that. Several companies have cited Alabama’s status as a right-to-work state as a key reason they relocated to the state, particularly Airbus and Remington.

.