That makes sense. But then I wonder about on the assembly line also. Did the assembly plant get the hose in bulk or pre-cut?
I could see a side job for someone taking that same bulk line and cutting it to lengths in batches for the various applications. I would think that if they had a supplier provide them cut to length, that would have called for multiple part numbers for tracking and ordering purposes, and those part numbers don't show up in the MPC. That said, the purpose of the MPC is for replacement parts, not to document every part used in assembly (refer to attached pics.) So did Ford use bulk at the assembly plant? Who knows.
Another thought was that Ford was being tricky. Use white/yellow at the factory, make red available to dealers. Aftermarket would have neither. Then if there is a warranty claim they could tell the origin of the hose from the stripe. I know that is my brain working too hard.
As is typical, and has been stated many times, original unrestored cars is what we need to be on the look out for, and document well.
Jeff, yes I did see the curves hoses and corresponding part numbers.