The first meaningful production increase in two years, Ford Motor Company announced today that it will boost production by 10 percent. When gas hit $4.00 per gallon last year, Ford quit production of its venerable F-150, and part of the current production increase will be to meet the continued demand for the pickup truck. Ford will also increase production of the Escape and Edge crossovers. As the price of gas creeps toward the 3 dollar mark, Ford is taking a giant risk putting more Ford F-150 Super Crew models on car lots, despite its better-than-expected- sales figures in the current market.

In the second quarter, Ford will add 10,000 units to its production schedule and 46,000 more for the fourth quarter. Although this may sound impressive, it essentially represents a return from the low production output last year. Ford sales are probably being helped by GM and Chrysler cutting production. Ford posted lower than expected losses for the first quarter, encouraging the automaker to predict a break-even point sometime in 2011.

Chief Executive Alan Mulally views the current situation as an opportunity for Ford to gain market share in the face of GM and Chrysler's production halt. Since Ford sold off some of its peripheral brands and secured $26 billion in loans before the credit crunch hit, it did not need bailout money and now stands with a comfortable cash cushion.