Ford Gets Ex-Im Bank Loan Guarantee To Finance $3.1B Of Exports
WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)--The Export-Import Bank of the United States announced on Thursday a loan guarantee for Ford Motor Co. (F) to finance $3.1 billion of export sales for at least 200,000 vehicles-- 15% of Ford's 2011 production--destined for buyers in Canada and Mexico, a White House official said.
The vehicles will be manufactured in plants located in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri, Kentucky and Ohio.
The Export-Import Bank of the United States, known as Ex-Im Bank, is the official U.S. export credit agency.
In a written statement, the White House hailed the guarantee as a move toward meeting President Barack Obama's goal of doubling our exports over five years, a pledge Mr. Obama made in January.
The White House said the Private Export Funding Corp. will provide the funding for the revolving $250 million loan backed by the Ex-Im Bank's guarantee. The loan, fees and interest will be paid off in one year. Models to be exported using the Ex-Im loan-guarantee facility include the 2011 Ford Explorer, along with the F-150 pickup, Focus, Escape, Expedition, E-Series Van and Taurus, as well as the Lincoln MKS and Navigator.
The announcement coincides with Obama's visit to a Ford assembly plant in Chicago Thursday to discuss government rescues of General Motors Co. and Chrysler last year. The administration says the $60 billion it provided to those companies saved one million jobs. Though Ford didn't take federal funds, Ford Chief Executive Alan Mulally has said the bailout saved the industry's supply chain from collapse.
This is Obama's third visit to an auto plant in a week in an effort to persuade voters of the merits of the government bailout and attendant management changes that drew criticism that the administration was getting too involved in private business. The federal money has yet to be paid back.
This year Ford received a $5.9 billion Department of Energy credit line for the development of fuel-efficient vehicles, as part of the $787 billion govenrment stimulus plan Obama signed last year.
Ford plans to invest $450 million to produce a new hybrid and plug-in hybrid at its Michigan Assembly Plant beginning in 2012, creating 1,000 jobs.
In Chicago, the company is investing $400 million and adding 1,200 jobs amid plans to begin production of its fuel-efficient 2011 Ford Explorer later this year. The Explorer will be exported to 90 countries.
-By Elizabeth Williamson at elizabeth.williamson@wsj.com
online.wsj.com |
