Ford Motor Co. said it's working to minimize manufacturing disruptions after a fire took out a New York plant that supplies roughly 40% of the aluminum sheet used in the auto industry.

Aluminum makes up the bodies of the Dearborn automaker's F-Series trucks, the country's best-selling vehicles that drive the company's earnings. A late-night fire on Sept. 16 at Atlanta-based Novelis Inc.'s Oswego plant damaged a building with the company's hot mill that supplies the aluminum sheets for automakers, rendering it unusable. A major part of the plant will be offline until early next year.

"Novelis is one of several aluminum suppliers to Ford," spokesperson Ian Thibodeau said in a statement. "Since the fire nearly three weeks ago, Ford has been working closely with Novelis, and a full team is d

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