Ford Motor Co., which will unveil its restructuring plan next week, is likely to announce the closing of five North American plants, a research firm said Wednesday.
Global Insight Inc. said the plants likely to be targeted were those in Atlanta, St. Louis, Missouri, St. Paul, Minnesota , Cuautitlan, Mexico and St. Thomas, Ontario.
Calling the plants "vulnerable," analysts at Waltham, Massachusetts-based Global Insight said they had not seen Ford's restructuring plan, and that their report was based on research and discussions with experts.
The Atlanta plant has a capacity of 250,000 units, and its assembly of the Taurus was scheduled to end in August 2006, with no future product plans.
"The plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico, is woefully underutilized," Catherine Madden, an analyst with Global Insight, said on a conference call.
With a capacity of 156,000 units, the plant assembles the F-series vehicles for the domestic Mexican market.
The plant in St. Louis, with a capacity of 204,000 units, assembles the Ford Explorer and Mercury Mountaineer sport-utility vehicles, and operates only one shift, Madden said. Both of those vehicles are also made in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ford's Twin Cities assembly plant in St. Paul, with a capacity of 180,000 units, is an aging facility, Madden said. A lack of investment and the weak sales of the Ford Ranger pickup have hurt the plant.
She also said the St. Thomas facility in Canada, with a capacity of 240,000, could be on the list of closures.
Madden said she does not expect the Wixom plant, located in Novi, Michigan, to close. Several analysts have speculated on the fate of that facility since Ford discontinued the Thunderbird last year and said future Lincolns would be built at the Atlanta Assembly Plant in Hapeville, Georgia.
But Madden said Ford will likely shut down the Wixom plant for a period of time to renovate it for new products, but that it likely will not be one of the more permanent closures.
Ford, which runs 34 plants in North America, of which 19 are assembly operations, plans to announce its "Way Forward" restructuring plan on Monday, which is expected to include job cuts as well.
Ford was not immediately available for comment.
Several analysts expect Ford to close at least four plants, as well as several smaller parts plants.