Ford’s aluminium supplier, Novelis, saw a new fire break out at its plant in New York on Thursday, two months after another fire destroyed a large part of its production area.
The manufacturer had planned for its Oswego plant to return to operation by December.
Novelis told TechCrunch on Thursday that the four-alarm fire started in the morning, and “everyone who was working at the plant was safely evacuated.”
“The fire is under control, but crews are on site to make sure it’s fully extinguished,” the manufacturer added.
It remains unclear what the impact of the new fire will be on production.
The company supplies sheet aluminum to automakers such as Ford, Stellantis, Volkswagen, Toyota, and Hyundai in the US.
Recent Fire
Novelis, which supplies aluminum sheets to about 40% of the US auto industry, recently experienced a fire at the same plant, threatening to disrupt production for several months.
To reduce the impact on US supply chains, Novelis said then it was relying on its overseas factories in Europe, Brazil, and South Korea.
However, due to the US tariffs on aluminium imports, automakers were forced to look for other solutions.
In a statement to the WSJ then, Ford said that it has been working with Novelis while considering other suppliers to mitigate the impact on production.
“Since the fire nearly three weeks ago, Ford 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,” the company said.
Impact on Ford Production
Ford’s F-150 Lightning pickup trucks rely on this supply of aluminum from Novelis.
Last month, the Detroit automaker halted production of the fully electric version in Michigan, citing consequences from the fire, and focused on hybrid and internal combustion engine versions of the F-150 instead.
Upon reporting its third-quarter earnings results, Ford said its financials will be affected by the event, leading the company to readjust its estimates.
The Novelis fire is expected to create an headwind of $1.5–$2 billion and an adjusted free cash flow headwind of $2–$3 billion.
Reacting to the earnings, Piper Sandler analyst Alexander Potter estimated that aluminum supply will be “normalized in 2026” after the Novelis fire.
Deutsche Bank’s analyst Edison Yu also noted that the impact from the fire will “unwind” next year.
According to the analyst, investors are “looking beyond the fire (in Ford‘s case) and into an environment where OEMs can reap strong benefits across price/mix, compliance, and even tariff relief.”
As of the time of writing, Ford is trading 2% lower at $12.62 on Thursday’s market session.
