Trucks and SUVs are essential to Ford. Any production stoppage means a potential loss of business. That's why the ongoing semiconductor chip crisis has been a nightmare for the Blue Oval, along with fellow Detroit automakers GM and Stellantis. They also rely on trucks and SUVs for major profits. What else is capable of being the primary source of funding for electric vehicles?

With that irony in mind, Ford has just confirmed yet another major US production plant will be idled next week due to a lack of those thumbnail-sized chips. The Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant will both be closed starting March 7 and, hopefully, it'll only be for the week.

Kentucky is home to major Ford products like the Expedition and Lincoln Navigator, and the Super Duty trucks. Ohio is charged with building medium-duty trucks, vans, and Super Duty chassis cabs.

"The global semiconductor shortage continues to affect Ford's North American plants - along with automakers and other industries around the world," Ford spokesman Said Deep said in a statement. "Behind the scenes, we have teams working on how to maximize production, with a continued commitment to building every high-demand vehicle for our customers with the quality they expect."

As it turns out, Ford isn't the only Detroit brand temporarily shutting down production next week. Stellantis has also confirmed it will idle the Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois, home of the Cherokee.

"Stellantis continues to work closely with our suppliers to mitigate the manufacturing impacts caused by the various supply chain issues facing our industry," said a company spokesperson. This past week alone, Ford was forced to reduce production at its F-150 plant in Kansas City, Missouri. Fortunately, the Dearborn plant in Michigan remained online.

Looking ahead through the rest of the year, industry analysts and automakers both agree the chip shortage crisis will ease. Ford, for example, predicts its global production volume will increase by 10 to 15 percent this year. There will still be supply chain issues for critical components other than semiconductor chips but it appears the worst is behind us.