So close but so far…

[mdsalemi]

It seems like Ford is going out of their way to screw up every single possible thing they can do with the Maverick. No other explanation I can think of. Truck was built nearly a month ago, made its way on the slow train from Hermosillo, Mexico, to new Boston, Michigan. That’s the CSX automotive services facility, where they unload from the trains, and put onto the car carriers for the last miles to the dealer.. that facility is 12 miles from my dealer and the Maverick has been sitting there for a week. Arghhh. Shaking my head at the gross levels of incompetence here. This isn’t rocket science. Put the damn truck on the car carrier and take it away to the dealer!
OK done ranting going back to work

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[prsncat]

It seems like Ford is going out of their way to screw up every single possible thing they can do with the Maverick. No other explanation I can think of. Truck was built nearly a month ago, made its way on the slow train from Hermosillo, Mexico, to new Boston, Michigan. That’s the CSX automotive services facility, where they unload from the trains, and put onto the car carriers for the last miles to the dealer.. that facility is 12 miles from my dealer and the Maverick has been sitting there for a week. Arghhh. Shaking my head at the gross levels of incompetence here. This isn’t rocket science. Put the damn truck on the car carrier and take it away to the dealer!
OK done ranting going back to work

I understand your frustration.

• My wife's PHEV Ford Escape was shipped to a depot near Ontario, California (where most manufacturers have a southern California distribution point). It sat in the lot for nearly a month before being loaded on a transport to the dealer 24 miles away.
• The 2022 XL Hybrid I ordered took two weeks to deliver to the same dealer from Ontario.
• The 2023 XLT EB AWD I ordered took only three days to be delivered from Ontario to the same dealer.

Understand that the rail and truck transport are independent contractors. You are ranting at Ford when you should be directing your angst at the broker/contractors scheduling each of the truckloads transporting vehicles from the railyard to the dealers. Neither Ford nor the dealer has insight, influence, or control over this process.

By the way, I also learned (for California) that the dealer does not own the vehicle until it is unloaded from the carrier. This means the transaction cannot begin until it is delivered to the dealer.

 

[mdsalemi]

Well, I think you’re a little bit wrong here. When you ship as many vehicles on CSX as any of the auto companies, you can be sure as heck that they have some influence over the shipping process…they don’t just drop the vehicle on the train at one place and pray that it’ll get there. It doesn’t work that way. Vehicles sitting in a staging area do nobody any good. CSX isn’t going to get paid until they deliver it to the dealer. Ford isn’t going to get paid until it ends up on the lot, and the dealer isn’t going to get paid until they sell it to me. So explain to me why the vehicle is sitting for so long, yours or mine? Somebody not doing their job.

Of course, the dealer doesn’t own the vehicle until they get it on their lot; that makes perfect sense.

Ford doesn’t earn a penny until the vehicle is sold, and it can’t get sold until it’s delivered to the dealer!

 

[prsncat]

Well, I think you’re a little bit wrong here. When you ship as many vehicles on CSX as any of the auto companies, you can be sure as heck that they have some influence over the shipping process…they don’t just drop the vehicle on the train at one place and pray that it’ll get there. It doesn’t work that way. Vehicles sitting in a staging area do nobody any good. CSX isn’t going to get paid until they deliver it to the dealer. Ford isn’t going to get paid until it ends up on the lot, and the dealer isn’t going to get paid until they sell it to me. So explain to me why the vehicle is sitting for so long, yours or mine? Somebody not doing their job.

Of course, the dealer doesn’t own the vehicle until they get it on their lot; that makes perfect sense.

Ford doesn’t earn a penny until the vehicle is sold, and it can’t get sold until it’s delivered to the dealer!

The rail companies get paid by Ford when the vehicle is dropped at the yard.
The carrier gets paid by Ford when the vehicle is dropped at the dealer.

The above services are (typically) managed by independent brokers and not Ford employees.

The dealer begins paying fees (or interest) for inventory sitting on the lot after a predefined number of days.
The dealer gets paid when the vehicle is purchased.
Ford gets paid by the dealer.

As I stated above, the Ontario railyard services multiple manufacturers (overseas imports tend to come through Long Beach, Los Angeles, or Port Heuneme).

I didn't tell you that the dealer I purchased from is in an auto center. I have seen carriers bringing new vehicles from more than one manufacturer from the same Ontario lot -- a single trailer might have Fords, Buicks, Jeep, Ram, and/or GMCs. Consequently, the carriers aren't exclusive to one manufacturer -- it's a service that Ford and other manufacturers contract with. Plus, there are many different trucking companies servicing the facility.

I imagine the only forcing function a manufacturer like Ford might have is to begin charging the broker (in charge of scheduling carriers) a fee for every day their vehicle sits in the railyard (after a certain threshold has been exceeded).

I have also seen these railyards hold inventory from being delivered to the dealer. For example, look at the airbag recall during the 2022 Model Year. Some of those Mavericks sat at the dealership until parts were available. Yet, many remained in the railyard or placed in a storage facility until the parts were available to the dealer.

In conclusion, your rant is misplaced on Ford. They pay other companies to provide these services, and these companies will optimize the delivery schedule any way they want. Ford's only 'stick' might be penalties for the broker if the vehicle sits too long in the railyard. Ford probably gets charged a storage fee, and they might pass this along to the broker along with a similar fee (or interest) for every day it sits there beyond the threshold.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

...the Maverick has been sitting there for a week...

The trucking company may be waiting until they have a full truckload before they'll bother to pick up/take vehicles the last few miles to the stealership.

Mine's been sitting in the KC rail yard since around 5 Sept.

 

[Bertram]

It seems like Ford is going out of their way to screw up every single possible thing they can do with the Maverick. No other explanation I can think of. Truck was built nearly a month ago, made its way on the slow train from Hermosillo, Mexico, to new Boston, Michigan. That’s the CSX automotive services facility, where they unload from the trains, and put onto the car carriers for the last miles to the dealer.. that facility is 12 miles from my dealer and the Maverick has been sitting there for a week. Arghhh. Shaking my head at the gross levels of incompetence here. This isn’t rocket science. Put the damn truck on the car carrier and take it away to the dealer!
OK done ranting going back to work

Teamsters are honoring the UAW strike so your truck will not move until the strike is over.

 

[mdsalemi]

The trucking company may be waiting until they have a full truckload before they'll bother to pick up/take vehicles the last few miles to the stealership.

Mine's been sitting in the KC rail yard since around 5 Sept.

My dealer is one of the larger dealers in the nation. They are waiting on a LOT of vehicles. I cannot believe that there isn't a full load to them alone; plus the fact that there are dozen of dealers in SE Lower Michigan. It would not be uncommon to have a full load split amongst 2-3 dealers all in close proximity. But, just a guess at this point.

 

[mdsalemi]

Teamsters are honoring the UAW strike so your truck will not move until the strike is over.

I thought of this, but I was told that the Teamsters are only "honoring" the strike for trucks going into or out of striking plants, not for vehicle deliveries. Else, the entire industry would be completely shut down, as no parts would move anywhere--this would be instant paralysis. I was told deliveries are still being made. But who knows! Maybe my dealer information is incorrect. They have thrown their hands up in the air on this one. So have I.

 

[Pilot323]

It seems like Ford is going out of their way to screw up every single possible thing they can do with the Maverick. No other explanation I can think of. Truck was built nearly a month ago, made its way on the slow train from Hermosillo, Mexico, to new Boston, Michigan. That’s the CSX automotive services facility, where they unload from the trains, and put onto the car carriers for the last miles to the dealer.. that facility is 12 miles from my dealer and the Maverick has been sitting there for a week. Arghhh. Shaking my head at the gross levels of incompetence here. This isn’t rocket science. Put the damn truck on the car carrier and take it away to the dealer!
OK done ranting going back to work

Mine has been sitting on the ground in Vancouver, Canada for a couple of weeks.

I live on Vancouver Island which is serviced by the largest ferry corporation in the world. Once the vehicle is on a truck the trip to the dealer is not the issue.

One would think that Ford would be concerned enough about cash flow to get the vehicles to their customers ASAP, one way or another.

It is hard to believe that executives at Ford have no input as to the delivery of their products to the consumer.

 

[Ozarkbeard]

Teamsters are honoring the UAW strike so your truck will not move until the strike is over.

Stealerships are still getting deliveries. The teamsters are not crossing only where there are picket lines.

 

[mdsalemi]

Stealerships are still getting deliveries. The teamsters are not crossing only where there are picket lines.

That is exactly what I was told by my dealer.

 

[mdsalemi]

Mine has been sitting on the ground in Vancouver, Canada for a couple of weeks.

I live on Vancouver Island which is serviced by the largest ferry corporation in the world. Once the vehicle is on a truck the trip to the dealer is not the issue.

One would think that Ford would be concerned enough about cash flow to get the vehicles to their customers ASAP, one way or another.

It is hard to believe that executives at Ford have no input as to the delivery of their products to the consumer.

That makes you, me, and my dealer, all equally puzzled as to what’s going on.

 

[mdsalemi]

And now another disturbing update.
I was told by my dealer that my maverick finally left the CSX automotive services facility in New Boston, Michigan. This is the place where it was unloaded from the train trip from Mexico, and it’s 12 miles from my dealer.
Unfortunately, it was not taken to my dealer! It was taken to an undisclosed facility in the town of Canton Michigan. Just another town in the metro Detroit area. Now the dealer tells me the maverick has been noted as “delayed transportation” with no further information provided to the dealer. Is it missing parts? Has it been damaged? Is there a recall? Is there some campaign? Nobody is talking.
We have been through two recalls recently one on an Escape, and one on a Bronco Sport. Both took many months to get the parts.
Not looking good for a timely delivery…

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