Supply Chain Research

Ford will end production in Brazil due to “persistent idle capacity and slow sales that have resulted in years of significant losses” and will rearrange its South American vehicle supply chain to maintain sales of all but three models in the country. The Brazilian autos industry appears stuck in a downturn with sales in December down by 7.6% year over year while a production improvement of 21.1% was largely down to a surge in exports likely linked to Volkswagen. Ford’s Brazilian downturn can be seen in its supply chain activity, with imports which dropped by 69.4% year over year in Novem...