Ford plans to build more Super Duty Trucks at plant in Ontario, Canada

Ford's Kentucky Truck Plant is home to production of Ford's most valuable asset — the Ford Super Duty Truck.

But now, the Detroit-based automaker is expanding assembly of the iconic American truck to Canada.

This year alone, KTP has already produced more than 188,000 Super Duty's and a smaller plant in Ohio has built an additional roughly 17,000 of the trucks.

“Super Duty is a vital tool for businesses and people around the world and, even with our Kentucky Truck Plant and Ohio Assembly Plant running flat out, we can’t meet the demand,” Jim Farley, Ford president and CEO said in a statement Thursday.

Since the 2023 launch of Super Duty in Louisville, Ford has not been able to keep up with the demand.

Super Duty production at the Oakville Assembly Complex in Ontario, Canada, will start in 2026, employing 1,800 workers. This plant will produce up to 100,000 more trucks annually. The plant in Canada was originally picked by Ford to produce a three-row electric SUV, but the company said Thursday the soon-to-be-announced EV SUV will be produced elsewhere.

Last October, Ford saw KTP workers who are members of the UAW walk out on strike, effectively halting the production of Super Duty for nearly two weeks. The workers in Canada will be affiliated with Unifor, a Canadian general trade labor union. Essentially this move will provide the company with a continual production of Super Duty vehicles in the event of a future labor strike as well, since Unifor and UAW are separate unions operating under separate labor contracts.

Ultimately, the company said the decision was heavily influenced by its ability to avoid halting all production for retooling during the model-year changeover factories experience as the assembly lines are readied to make the next model style of the truck.

This move to Canada for the American automaker comes as KTP off Chamberlain Lane in Louisville is "operating at full capacity."

A Ford spokesperson said the company explored "all options" and expanding production at KTP was not viable. The factory which is already the company's most profitable and employs about 9,000 workers faces land constraints.

If KTP were its own company, it would be a Fortune 500 company because of how much revenue and profit it produces annually. The truck plant produces $48,000 per minute. The vehicles produced at the Louisville-based factory generate $25 billion a year in revenue , according to a previous statement from Ford.

Ford also noted that KTP will soon launch a new model year Ford Expedition and Lincoln Navigator.

"It's maxed out, expanding wasn't really an option ... we believe we're getting all the units that we can out of that footprint in [KTP]," a Ford spokesperson told The Courier Journal.

Ford's Louisville Assembly Plant on Fern Valley Road is also not an option for Super Duty production expansion according to the company, but this plant retains a committed EV future that will bring a roughly $1.2 billion investment into the factory.

"Louisville isn't an option because we have another plan for it," a Ford spokesperson said.

A Ford spokesperson said the addition of Super Duty assembly in Canada brings "multi-energy technology to the next generation of Super Duty trucks" and builds a path forward for electrification.

Ford ensured that if demand for Super Duty drops, the Canada plant would be the first to see workforce impacts and assembly workers in Louisville or Ohio would not immediately be impacted.

“This investment will benefit Ford, our employees in Canada and the U.S., and especially our customers who want and need Super Duty for their lives and livelihoods,” Kumar Galhotra, Ford’s chief operating officer said in a statement. “It is fully consistent with our Ford+ plan for profitable growth, as we take steps to maximize our global manufacturing footprint, and our investments will have a fast payback.”

Contact reporter Olivia Evans at oevans@courier-journal.com or on X, formerly known as Twitter at @oliviamevans_

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Ford plans to build more Super Duty Trucks at plant in Ontario, Canada