10:55AM New York – Ford drops 7% on production cuts and withdrawal of 2009 profit target.

Ford Motor Company withdrew its profit guidance for the year and said that it hopes to achieve break-even before taxes and excluding special charges. Ford also plans to cut is production in the next two quarters as sale of pick-ups and utility vehicles decline in the face of rising crude oil prices.

Ford had vowed to be profitable in 2009 and now no longer expects its domestic automotive operations to be profitable in the year. The troubled automaker is battling rising steel and other metal prices and its consumers are struggling with a surge in crude oil prices and tougher lending conditions for automobiles.

In the second quarter Ford plans to build 690,000 units, nearly 18% lower than a year ago and estimates similar production cut in the third quarter from a year ago. In the fourth quarter Ford hopes estimates production cut of between 2% an 8%, which may turn out to be optimistic.

Ford stock (F: chart) plunged 58 cents or 7.4% to $7.22.