Legacy automaker Ford (F) recently had to recall 1.4 million F-150 pickup trucks. This news came at perhaps the worst possible time for Ford, as supplies of the highly-popular pickup are at their lowest ebb in quite some time. This combination of high demand and low supply is hitting hard, and investors are feeling the pinch. Ford shares are down fractionally in Monday afternoon’s trading.
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Normally, March is a big month for Ford dealers, as Ford Truck Month fires up in earnest. The annual promotion means deals, and a lot of pickups going off dealership lots. But the fire at Novelis, which supplies Ford with the aluminum panels required to make F-150s in the first place, left Ford reeling, and its vaunted pickup out of the picture.
One dealership—Chuck Anderson Ford in Kansas City, Missouri—found itself looking at a supply of pickups that was almost ludicrous. It would have been ludicrous if it were not simply true; normally, Chuck Anderson goes into Truck Month with about 70 pickups. This month, it had nine. Nine pickups on the entire lot, going into one of the biggest promotions in a year for Ford. It gets worse from there; F-150 stocks are down 43% over the first fire at Novelis on September 16, 2025.
They’re In the Army, Mister Jones
Meanwhile, reports that the United States government is calling on manufacturers to focus more on military production have fallen on oddly receptive ears at Ford. While Ford has not made clear just how far it is preparing to go, reports suggest that Ford is at least looking into the concept of stepping up military production.
This is a potential issue with significant knock-on effects. A reduction in civilian supply will send prices up on both new and used cars. This is similar to what happened during the COVID-19 pandemic, and may actually be compounded by inflationary effects seen running amok through the economy in the last couple of years.
Is Ford Stock a Good Buy Right Now?
Turning to Wall Street, analysts have a Hold consensus rating on F stock based on four Buys, eight Holds and one Sell assigned in the past three months, as indicated by the graphic below. After a 35.9% rally in its share price over the past year, the average F price target of $13.88 per share implies 8.31% upside potential.
