Ford Motor Co. will add 2,000 jobs at a factory near Kansas City, Mo., to meet surging demand for pickup trucks and to build a new van.
Helped by a rebound in housing and construction, trucks have become the hottest segment of the U.S. auto industry so far this year, with sales outpacing passenger cars by a wide margin this year.
Ford wants to have production ready to meet that demand.
“The truck segment is growing three times faster than the overall industry, the housing market is strengthening, and we are seeing growth in the U.S. economy,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas.
Light truck sales grew 14% to 633,694 vehicles in April over the same month a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp. Passenger car sales grew just 3% to 651,644 during the same period.
Ford said Thursday it would add 900 jobs at the factory in the third quarter to build more F-series trucks. The pickup is the best selling vehicle of any type in the U.S.