- Ford is looking at flying car parts to a closed Canada factory due to trucker protests, per Reuters.
- Ford shut down its Windsor factory in Ontario on Wednesday because of supply shortages, per AP.
- Truckers have blocked key roads and bridges in protest of the COVID-19 vaccine mandate.
Ford is looking at flying car parts to a shut-down factory after a blockade caused by protesting Canadian truckers cut off the supply of assembly parts, Reuters reported.
The carmaker's engine plant in Windsor, Ontario, which was reportedly closed due to supply shortages, may receive auto parts by plane rather than truck, an official of the union which represents workers at the factory told Reuters on Thursday.
"We are looking at all options to keep our plants running," a spokesperson for Ford's Canadian division told Reuters.
Ford didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.
Ford told the Associated Press that it had to shut down its engine plant in Windsor on Wednesday because it was experiencing a shortage of supplies following the blockade on the Ambassador Bridge, which connects Detroit, Michigan with Ontario.
The automaker had to instead operate an assembly factory in Oakville, Ontario, on a limited schedule, per AP.
The Ambassador Bridge was forced to close on Monday night after truckers, who were protesting against the Canadian vaccine mandate, blocked the bridge. This resulted in traffic delays.
"This interruption on the Detroit-Windsor bridge hurts customers, auto workers, suppliers, communities and companies on both sides of the border," Ford said in a statement to AP. "We hope this situation is resolved quickly because it could have widespread impact on all automakers in the US and Canada."
General Motors and Stellantis told Insider on Thursday that the protests have impacted production at their factories in Canada because of supply shortages amid the bridge blockade.
Thousands of truckers and supporters have been protesting Canada's cross-border vaccine mandate, which went into effect on January 15.
The new rules require US truckers to present proof of vaccination to cross the border and unvaccinated Canadian truckers to get a COVID-19 test and quarantine when they reenter from the US. The US imposed a similar mandate on January 22.