With Ford's 2015 F-150 pickups' high-strength, military grade, aluminum alloy body and bed saving up to 700 lbs. over the previous model while increasing mileage and towing-hauling capacity, body shops are preparing for new challenges that aluminum body repair work will entail. At the top of the list, according to a recent Clayton Associates press release: the proper handling of messy and potentially explosive airborne dust caused by grinding or sanding. The aluminum body revolution is an industry game changer, and its impact will only increase in the years ahead. General Motors has already signaled that updates of its Chevrolet Silverado and GMC Sierra pickups will feature weight-saving aluminum bodies in the fall of 2018. By 2025, "Seven out of 10 new pickup trucks produced in North America will be aluminum-bodied" and "every leading automaker will have several aluminum body and closure panel programs," according to a 2015 North American Light Vehicle Aluminum Content Study by Ducker Worldwide, a consulting and research firm.
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