New-York tribune., 1919-11-15
Ford Output
Nears 1000
/ Cars Daily
Company Expects to Pro-
duce Million Automobiles
in the Current Year; Ca
pacity 100000 Cars

DETROIT, Nov. 14.-In the year
since the armistice was signed the
plants Of the Ford Motor Company
{ have been converted entirely to q
peace basis and are turning out cars
more rapidly than ever before. The
daily average production exceeds 5000
this month, and is steadily approach
Ing 1000, which is the new theoretical
capacity.
One million and half square feet
OF new floor space have been added.
The great shipyards on the River
Rouge, near Detroit, have just been
transformed to automobile body manu-
featuring plants, and now the company
is producing 800 bodies a day, in
stead of buying all Of them at out
side factories. The company purposes
to build all its own bodies as soon as
production at the new units can be in
furnaces are building, in which the
steel needed for Ford motor cars will
be smelted. Henry Ford is devoting
most of his time to the development Of
these new departments and to the
business of the tractor enterprise of
Henry Ford & Son, at Dearborn, Mich,
which is now producing 800 tractors
every twenty-four hours.
Seventy thousand workers, of which
~aAsy -hNO CiO uSdiIQ al III tic Ludlu pant
at Hilland Park, are employed in the
Ford plants here. This is the largest
number ever employed by the COM
pany. Before the United States en-
tered the war, the highest number of
workers was $4,000.
Record Production
The great advancement in plant and
personnel began to express itself in
terms of production only last month,
which was the best in the history Of
the company. In this month, S7,251
cars were produced, compared with
83,706 N May, 1917, which had been
year the daily production, which has
f1uctuated because of the difficulty in
getting raw material. has run as high
as 1859, and the officials of the COM
pany are aiming to manufacture 1,000,-
600 cars in the fiscal year, which be-
gan August 1. The new capacity is
100000 annually.
Labor conditions are satisfactory at
the Ford plaHts, in the opinion of rep
resentative workmen and of officials.
The famous SIS minimum wage to all
employees was this year increased to
$6, and it is understood that the man
agement is now considering an addi-
tional wage increase. The plants are
operated by three shifts, working
e1EnC nOurS Oay eacn.
Despite the high geared production
the company is running far behind in
its orders. If not an additional order
were taken, the plants would have to
operate at the present rate until next
March to complete the untitled
business.
The company assemblies only those
cars destined for the Michigan district
here; the others are put together at
two w. ni~ph% ~to
scattered throughout the country. Be-
sides the output of the Detroit plants
the concern made 1896 cars in its
plant in Ford City, Canada, last month
and makes $4,000 automobiles a year
at Manchester, England. The company,
moreover, is building new plants at
Cadiz,. Spain; Bordeaux, France;
Copenhagen, Denmark, and Sac Paulo,
Brazil.
of cars flowing out of the Detroit
plants are for foreign trade. OF the
present aggregate output, Sd per cent
are touring cars; 16 per cent enclosed
cars; Is per cent runabouts, and Is
per cent trucks.
New Unit for Starters
A new unit for the making of self
starters is now in operation, and
another is making glass for wind
shields, which heretofore was bought
outside.
In the new work, as in the old, all
the toilers are paid by the day. The
company is unalterably opposed to
piece work on grounds of safety, health
of the workers, and quality of work
done. Two thousand women, working
mainly in the coil and magnetic units,
are engaged in the plants, and have
the same minimum wage as the men.
IN, bo ForA
operated (1OS5-'o6) it produced 1,708
Ford cars, and its best year before the
present was 1917, in which 100000 cars
were produced.
Members of the inter-Allied COM
mercial missions from Great Britain.
France, Italy and Belgium just visited
the Ford plant.