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Fordlandia, Henry Ford’s failed dream in Brazil
From rubber to cars: the project designed to help Ford control the supply chain turned into a spectacular industrial mistake.
21 September 2026 1 min read 44 views
In the 1920s, Henry Ford tried to build a model city in the Amazon to secure cheap rubber and reduce reliance on Asian suppliers. The plan, however, ran into climate problems, logistics issues and poor management choices.
Fordlandia quickly became a symbol of the limits of top-down industrial expansion. Today it still serves as a warning for the car industry: controlling the supply chain matters, but without understanding the local context, an investment can turn into a disaster.