Ford Plans To Thai One On
Last January, Ford canceled plans to invest as much as $1b in factories in Thailand. FoMoCo reckoned it couldn't make their money pay off given the currency controls imposed by Thailand's new military-backed government. Bloomberg reports they've reconsidered. The Blue Oval Boyz will team-up with Mazda and shell-out $500m (each) to set-up a joint factory (so to speak) in the former Siamese Kingdom. Ford and Mazda already have shared facilities in China and a pickup truck factory in Thailand. The new venture is looking to export the Mazda2 and/or other products to other countries in the region: Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. They'd better; Ford says the Thai plant will be able to crank-out 275k units per year.
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Wait... how does this new plant have anything to do with the U.S. production? The production from this new plant will serve the APAC region - not the U.S. If this plant produces products efficiently, however, it will benefit the U.S. because that money comes back in the form of profits for Ford (which is a U.S. company with most of its infrastructure still here, including their highest paid employees). How do Toyota and Honda produce cars here more efficiently? No UAW. It sounds stupid and simply like placing blame, but it is true. Non-unionized workforces don't get pensions and retiree health care or have inane work rules and can be hired and fired at will. There is still no final decisions on Ford's next compact truck production location. It is very possible it will be done in the U.S., Brazil or Mexico. It is unlikely they would ship from Thailand.
Nice Ranger.