Steel Products
Ford Pauses Work on $3.5B Battery Plant: Report
Written by Becca Moczygemba
September 26, 2023
Ford Motor Co. said on Monday that it has stopped work at its $3.5-billion project for an electric vehicle (EV) battery plant in Michigan, according to media reports.
“We’re pausing work and limiting spending on construction on the (Marshall, Mich.,) project until we’re confident about our ability to competitively operate the plant,” an article from MarketWatch on Monday said, citing a Ford spokesperson.
The automaker announced the investment back in Feb. 2023. The plant would be the first automaker-backed lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery plant in the country, according to the original press release from Ford.
Named the BlueOval Battery Park Michigan, the plant would employ approximately 2,500 people. Ford had planned for LFP battery production to begin in 2026.
The MarketWatch article said that a final decision about the planned investment in BlueOval has not been made yet.
After the announcement, United Auto Workers (UAW) union president Shawn Fain released a statement on X, formerly Twitter, saying, “This is a shameful, barely veiled threat by Ford to cut jobs.”
“Closing 65 plants over the last 20 years wasn’t enough for the Big Three, now they want to threaten us with closing plants that aren’t even open yet,” Fain said on X. “We are simply asking for a just transition to electric vehicles and Ford is instead doubling down on their race to the bottom.”
Recall that the UAW has been on strike against all three Detroit-area automakers since Sept. 15 at targeted plants. An expansion of the strike was announced last Friday against General Motors and Stellantis, but Ford had been spared. Fain said at the time that at Ford “they are serious about reaching a deal.”
Becca Moczygemba
Read more from Becca MoczygembaLatest in Steel Products
Nucor keeps HRC price unchanged
Nucor paused its weekly hot-rolled (HR) coil price this week, keeping it flat for the first time since Jan. 21. This comes after a nine-week rally that saw the company increase prices by double-digits for eight of those weeks.
Nucor increases plate prices by $40/ton
Nucor aims to increase prices for steel plate by $40 per short ton (st) with the opening of its May order book. The Charlotte, N.C.-based steelmaker said the increase was effective with new orders received on Friday, March 28, in a letter to customers dated the same day. The company said the price hike applied […]
US CRC price gains ground over imports
US cold-rolled (CR) coil prices increased again this week, while offshore prices declined.
SMU Steel Demand Index momentum slows
Steel Market Update is pleased to share this Premium content with Executive members. Contact info@steelmarketupdate.com for information on how to upgrade to a Premium-level subscription. Growth in SMU’s Steel Demand Index eased in March after reaching a four-year high in late February. Despite a moderate gain, the index remains in expansion territory. The Steel Demand […]
Leibowitz: Impact of tariffs on US manufacturers
On February 10, President Trump announced a massive restructuring of tariffs on steel and aluminum. Those changes took effect on March 12, and they will impact US manufacturing. What will the impact be? Bye-bye exclusions Perhaps the most important change, which hits imports from all countries, is the loss of a product exclusion process to […]