Ford announced it will close three plants in Brazil, ending vehicle production in the South American nation. The automaker will incur $4.1B in pretax charges. Ford employs 5,000 people in Brazil.

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• Vehicle sales fell by 26% last year and aren't expected to return to pre-pandemic levels until 2023.
• Ford has been in Brazil for more than 100 years. Recently, it has struggled in the South American market. The company lost $386M in the first nine months of 2020 and $704M in 2019.
• The move is part of an $11B global restructuring plan that began in 2018. Ford is aiming for 8% global operating margins.
• Ford will continue selling vehicles in Brazil, which is home to its product development center and regional headquarters.
• Last month, Ford withdrew from a joint venture with Indian automaker Mahindra and Mahindra.

Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-OR) and Rep. Rick Larsen (D-WA) asked FAA Administrator Steve Dickson to prevent people from traveling to Washington D.C. to disrupt President-elect Joe Biden's inauguration. The request comes a week after a mob of President Trump's supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol building.

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• DeFazio is the chairman of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, while Larsen oversees the subcommittee on aviation,
• Last week, Republican Senators Mitt Romney and Lindsey Graham were heckled by Trump supporters after they voted to certify the election results.
• On Saturday, Larsen promised to "pursue strong enforcement action" against passengers who engage in inappropriate conduct and refuse to wear a mask. 
• Alaska Airlines banned 14 passengers who refused to wear a mask on a flight from Washington D.C. to Seattle.

U.K. regulator Ofcom has approved SpaceX's Starlink satellite internet service. SpaceX has already begun distributing the kit for its public beta test.

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• SpaceX plans to launch 42,000 satellites around the Earth to provide high-speed broadband internet. It has launched at least 800 satellites in the U.S.
• SpaceX has also received approval from Greece, Germany, and Australia.
• Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, tweeted in December that Starlink would IPO when revenue is "reasonably predictable."

Intel-owned Mobileye is producing laser sensors that will ensure affordable autonomous vehicles are available by 2025. Mobileye plans to use an Intel silicon chip to develop a full self-driving sensor suite that will include LiDAR laser sensors.

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• Mobileye controls 80% of the world's market for advanced driver-assistance vision systems and was acquired by Intel in 2017.
• Later this year, Mobileye will expand test fleets of its autonomous vehicle program to Detroit, Paris, Shanghai, and Tokyo.
• Mobileye will begin selling its level-four self-driving system to robotaxi operators in 2022, as well as integrating the self-driving system into its own driverless vehicles.

An Indonesian Boeing 737-500 carrying 62 people crashed into the Java Sea shortly after takeoff on Saturday. The plane belonged to the Indonesian airline Sriwijaya Air and was in the midst of a 90-minute flight from Jakarta to Borneo Island.

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• The 26-year-old plane ascended to a maximum altitude of 10,900 feet but is believed to have descended by 10,000 feet within a minute.
• Rescue teams located the plane's black boxes and recovered communications data. The plane's debris, along with human remains, have been found.
• Another Boeing jet, the 737 MAX, was halted worldwide in March 2019 after two crashes within a five-month span killed 346 people.

A version of this story first appeared in Inside Daily Brief. You can read the full issue here. 

Ford will halt production at its Kentucky plant this week due to a semiconductor shortage. The plant employs 3,900 workers. Ford plans to move up the one-week shutdown scheduled for later this year.

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• Automakers and parts suppliers have warned for months about the possibility of a semiconductor shortage due to an unexpected rise in demand coupled with COVID-19 related factory shutdowns,
• Semiconductors are a necessary component in vehicles for features such as infotainment, driver assist, and Bluetooth connection.
• Nissan will suspend production at its plant in Japan this week.
• Fiat Chrysler recently closed factories in Canada and Mexico. Volkswagen reduced vehicle production in North America, Europe, and China.

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