OKTB today..?

[SnBGC]

My window sticker says "RD27".

RD27 services dealers in locations such as Perry Ford in National City, Sunrise Ford in Fontan, Gosch in Temecula etc. Is your dealer in this same region?

Just guessing here, but it doesn't seem to me like local transport is the problem. Sounds like it's getting MMEs in large volume out of the plant, into the US, and cross-country. Once they get to the standard auto rail handling facilities for each city, I'm guessing there's little further delay getting it that last few dozen miles to dealerships.

Just my guess anyway.

Yes, it's perplexing to say the least. Everyone that I have asked that might know something....doesn't know anything. You would think there would have been lots and lots of rail transport cars lined up in Mexico since it was known for a long long time that a large batch of cars would be expected to ship in late Nov. I know ships don't wait.....the phrase "missed the boat" certainly applies. Trains don't wait very long either. I think there is much more to this story than we are aware of at the moment...

Mine says the same. Who is to say that RH 27 is not Galpin???

Yours actually says something different. His was RD27. Yours is RH27. Good thing you aren't unloading these cars from the trains.
RH27 services dealers like Auto Nation in Tustin, Advantage Ford in Duarte, Norm Ford in Cerritos, Auto Nation in Torrence and I presume Galvin Ford in whatever city it happens to be located.
If the plan was to rail the car right to Galvin Ford, it would probably say CA1 in that spot. I think that is their private designation. Or it might be GA1.......I don't have the list with me right now to check.....

The "RAMP ONE" box on the sticker doesn't indicate the LAST leg, it is the first. My car is going to a tiny dealership nowhere near an active rail line. It's first leg is by rail from Mexico, the last leg MUST be a truck. I think what @SnBGC is saying is that if the last leg was rail also, there would be an indicator in the "RAMP TWO" box:

Yes, exactly my thoughts as well.
For example.....RA1 is the code for Arizona dealers. Wherever the train goes to get offloaded, the driver looks at the window sticker and thus knows where the car is supposed to be parked. It's called "Rail Ramp Code" but it could be a rail ramp, a parking lot etc. Cars destined for Arizona will be parked in spot labeled RA1. When there are enough vehicles in that spot, a truck transport backs up and loads up what they can and then head to Arizona stopping at several different dealerships.

I presume the same happens with other regions like RD27, RH27 etc....

If there is a rail to rail transfer. Then Ramp One code designates the spot to be loaded onto the next rail car or perhaps the entire rail car is transferred then it gets unhooked and moved to another rail ramp to join another train. Then we would see another code in the Ramp Two box.

At least this is how I understand the process. I only get little bits of the story here and there because I don't know anyone who is familiar with the entire process start to finish. I just am aware of a little portion here and there.

???? (would love to learn more about how this works....)

RD27 looks like a regional hub for SoCal. Search "Ford Window Sticker RD27" and you'll find them at dealerships all over SoCal. For instance, here's one for a Barstow dealership...

https://www.mojavefordbarstow.net/a...&dealerCode=03440&postalCode=92311&status=NEW

It's not a hub per se......it's where the unloader is supposed to stage the cars so they can make their next transfer. The Rail and Haulaway vehicle manual published by Ford has instructions to the unloaders to park the vehicles to the far left side of the line in each parking space to avoid door dings. There is also a list of the various regional codes.....it's pages and pages long and covers all North America. There only a few codes for AZ....I think Colorado is the same. California has a couple pages worth of codes......

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[EV Lab]

RA84 (which my window sticker shows) appears to be for the SF Bay area...

 

[machefan]

I get the same result in iPhone safari, iPhone chrome, Mac safari, and Mac chrome.

And the official Ford VIN tracker says it's not scheduled for production.

I'm ok if it's delayed. I'd actually prefer not to get it until early summer.

Well in your case maybe there is not a prod date yet. Did you get an email from Ford giving a production date?

 

[dbsb3233]

Did you get an email from Ford

An email from Ford about a vehicle order? Do such things really exist??

 

[eltonlin]

Yup. Same code here.

RA84 (which my window sticker shows) appears to be for the SF Bay area...

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Yes, it's perplexing to say the least. Everyone that I have asked that might know something....doesn't know anything. You would think there would have been lots and lots of rail transport cars lined up in Mexico since it was known for a long long time that a large batch of cars would be expected to ship in late Nov. I know ships don't wait.....the phrase "missed the boat" certainly applies. Trains don't wait very long either. I think there is much more to this story than we are aware of at the moment...

There's generally not a surplus of rail cars at any given time. There likely was no "waiting" involved, not at any price. Then there's actually a shortage of railcars that can transport vehicles. Those cars are split roughly 2/3's bilevel and 1/3 single level. That split has existed since we all started favoring trucks and SUV's. And there's a shortage of them anyway. Plus there are always bottlenecks, rail congestion, crew shortages, etc. And that was before the pandemic.

2019 apparently was a particularly bad year for transporting cars via railroad, all those limiting factors hit at the same time. Add in an economic downturn and some auto transport cars are eliminated as railroads "right-size" their inventory to meet the reduced demand.

My guess is there simply aren't enough cars available to get these vehicles out of the Ford Cuautitlán Plant atm.

 

[SnBGC]

There's generally not a surplus of rail cars at any given time. There likely was no "waiting" involved, not at any price. Then there's actually a shortage of railcars that can transport vehicles. Those cars are split roughly 2/3's bilevel and 1/3 single level. That split has existed since we all started favoring trucks and SUV's. And there's a shortage of them anyway. Plus there are always bottlenecks, rail congestion, crew shortages, etc. And that was before the pandemic.

2019 apparently was a particularly bad year for transporting cars via railroad, all those limiting factors hit at the same time. Add in an economic downturn and some auto transport cars are eliminated as railroads "right-size" their inventory to meet the reduced demand.

My guess is there simply aren't enough cars available to get these vehicles out of the Ford Cuautitlán Plant atm.

Good points.
The more the onion is peeled the more complicated things become. Sounds like a simple thing to ship a bunch of vehicles, but definately easier said than done.

 

[ChasingCoral]

RA84 (which my window sticker shows) appears to be for the SF Bay area...

I see RV2G on mine. It seems to cover vehicles all over the area. Google didn't help. Any idea where it is?

 

[Kamuelaflyer]

Good points.
The more the onion is peeled the more complicated things become. Sounds like a simple thing to ship a bunch of vehicles, but definately easier said than done.

 

[dbsb3233]

My guess is there simply aren't enough cars available to get these vehicles out of the Ford Cuautitlán Plant atm.

Doesn't help supply when this happens either...

 

[machefan]

An email from Ford about a vehicle order? Do such things really exist??

Yes, but I am guessing you already know this and just making a joke.

 

[VegStang]

Same code (RA84) here as well.

As this is still 2020 I'm going to be more concerned with the cars arriving at the dealers unscathed than speed of arrival, especially since it appears very few will arrive before Jan 1.

Of course my opinion could change if mine just happens to leave the plant before the 21st.

Yup. Same code here.

 

[mattbostonmache]

Well in your case maybe there is not a prod date yet. Did you get an email from Ford giving a production date?

Yes. I got an email on Nov 5 saying my build would be the week of Jan 18.

But that's not showing on either Ford tracking site.

Here's the email:

 

[KAustin]

I see RV2G on mine. It seems to cover vehicles all over the area. Google didn't help. Any idea where it is?

And mine is RA2G.

 

[Hgray]

My dealer is Galpin

Attached is a window sticker of a BRAND NEW CAR ON THE GALPIN LOT.

RAIL MEANS TRAIN

CONVOY MEANS TRUCK


http://www.windowsticker.forddirect.com/windowsticker.pdf?vin=1FTER4EH8LLA94276

I have a read that the Bronco Sport is assembled in the same plant on the MME. is there a way to track their delivery methods?

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