Ford, citing fire at headquarters, postpones October sales report for U.S.

Ford, citing fire at headquarters, postpones October sales report for U.S.

DETROIT -- A fire at Ford’s world headquarters on Monday is forcing the company to delay the release of October sales results for the U.S. until later in the week.

The fire at an electrical substation interrupted power at the Dearborn, Mich., headquarters and nearby Ford Credit office buildings, as well as to one of Ford’s main data centers that the company and dealers use to report and track U.S. deliveries, Ford said late Monday.

"While battery backups worked as intended to protect data saved in the system, the lack of full power resulted in the data center being shut down for most of Monday’s business day, and dealers were unable to report final-day sales," Ford said in a statement.

Automakers are scheduled to release U.S. sales results for October on Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg expect Ford's U.S. sales to decline 11 percent in October amid an overall decline in industry volume. The company said its monthly U.S. sales conference call for media and analysts will resume with November’s sales report on Dec. 1.

Ford was forced to evacuate the headquarters early Monday because of the fire that started in the basement.

A Ford spokesman said a fire started in an electrical substation below the 12-story building. Firefighters contained the flames after the building’s electrical power was shut off, the spokesman said in an update at 10:40 a.m. Eastern.

No injuries were reported. At noon, Ford said evacuated employees were being sent home for the rest of the day.

The building, known locally as the “Glass House,” opened in 1956. It is scheduled for major renovations beginning in 2021.