After a series of major fires at Novelis, one of the key suppliers of sheet aluminum to automakers, output of several Ford models took a noticeable hit. The picture is beginning to settle, though: production of the flagship heavy-duty Ford Super Duty is now accelerating. According to the latest data, 23,676 trucks in this family rolled out in November, a 4.5% increase that suggests the ramp-up is gathering pace.

By contrast, the story is very different for another popular Ford nameplate, the F-150 pickup. Its output has shrunk sharply—down a hefty 30%—to just 21,069 units. The reason is clear: a shortage of high-grade aluminum needed for bodywork and structural parts, stemming from the issues at the Novelis plant. For such a widely demanded pickup, that’s a painful drop.

Ford acknowledges the material shortfall and says the situation should improve once Novelis fully restores operations. Even so, analysts warn that aluminum supplies will remain constrained in the early months of next year, which will temporarily limit the company’s ability to bring production across all models back to previous levels. The trajectory of the recovery, in other words, still looks uneven.