COMMODITY COSTS PINCH FORD AS IT SLIPS ON PROFIT MARGIN

Ford Motor Co. on Wednesday posted a lower-than-expected quarterly net profit, hurt by rising commodity costs and unfavourable currency exchange rates, and said it expects more pain to come from higher raw material prices in 2018. Ford has been alone among the major automakers in warning that higher prices for metals like aluminum and steel will take a bite out of earnings, and last week its shares took a dive after executives said they could cost the company US$1.6 billion in 2018. The company’s profitability has also been declining versus its peers. Ford’s automotive operating margin for the quarter fell to 3.7 per cent, from 5.7 per cent a year earlier. Ford said last week cost-cutting measures such as streamlining its model lineup and slashing marketing costs would help boost its profit margins.