A fire broke out again on Thursday at Novelis’ aluminum plant in Oswego, New York, which supplies aluminum for Ford’s popular F-150 trucks. This comes nearly two months after a previous blaze that shut down much of the plant’s production.
The Oswego facility is a key supplier for Ford, especially since the F-150 trucks use mostly aluminum in their bodies. The September fire forced Ford to pause production of its electric F-150 Lightning in Michigan, and there have also been disruptions to the gas-powered versions of the truck. In October, there was also a smaller fire at the plant.
Ford had lowered its profit forecast after the first fire, expecting to take a hit of up to $2 billion. The company hopes to make up about half of that loss next year by ramping up production at other truck plants.
Novelis had initially planned to reopen the damaged part of the plant by early 2026. In October, they updated that timeline, aiming to restart by the end of December instead. However, after the latest fire on Thursday, the company said it’s still too soon to know if this timeline will change.
According to a Novelis spokesperson, the fire started in the morning and all workers were safely evacuated. Several local fire departments responded quickly, and the fire is now under control, with crews staying on site to make sure it is fully out. Ford did not immediately comment on the situation.
This plant has become a critical part of Ford’s truck production, so any delays could continue to impact the supply of F-150 trucks for both the gas-powered and electric models. The coming weeks will be important to see how quickly Novelis can fully recover and get the plant up and running again.