Ford

Biden could try to pressure chipmakers; he’s also backed proposals for tax incentives to U.S. manufacturers to make the critical parts in America. 

With a semis shortage continuing to hit automakers, two traders talk the futures for the companies.

For months, GM has been prioritizing manufacturing its most profitable vehicles, such as full-size pickups, by cutting production of cars and crossovers.

Ford’s actions vary py plant but range from shift cancellations to plants being closed for several weeks from April through June.

The transition to electric vehicles “goes at different speed and different region but it’s profound,” BorgWarner CEO Frederic Lissalde told CNBC.

Ford is cutting a shift at a plant in Kentucky that produces pickups and temporarily shuttering another plant in Ohio due to the chip shortage.

Commercial vehicles such as police responders, which Ford leads, is a concentration of the company under Ford CEO Jim Farley.

Ford intends to use the net proceeds from the five-year bond offering for general corporate purposes, including the potential repayment of debt.

“If you want to bet on electric vehicles with much less risk, I say buy some Ford or General Motors,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Alexandra Ford English, 33, and Henry Ford III, 40, will stand for election to the company’s board of directors at its annual meeting of shareholders on May 13.

Shares of electric vehicle start-up Canoo surged after the automaker detailed its third planned product, a bubbly-looking pickup truck.

The pickup – potentially named Maverick – is expected to be smaller than Ford’s current Ranger model.

The action follows calls from bipartisan members of Congress and industry leaders warning about the potential consequences of the shortage.

Silicon chips are the lifeblood of the tech-obsessed world we live in, but today they’re in short supply. 

“It would have been three miserable days without the truck,” Jerry Hall, 73, of Kerrville, Texas, said in a phone interview.

Ford has lost track of some older Takata air bags that can explode and hurl shrapnel, so it’s recalling more than 154,000 vehicles in North America.

“It’s time for our government to invest in building the biggest and best complex of semiconductor foundries … in the world,” the “Mad Money” host said.

Ford CFO John Lawler said the company is forecasting it will earn between $8 billion and $9 billion in adjusted pretax profits this year.

With Ford and fellow automaker General Motors up nearly 30% year to date, two traders say electric vehicles will be a key factor in their race to profits.

Ford is cutting production at plants in Michigan and Missouri that produce its profitable F-150 pickup trucks due to a global semiconductor chip shortage.