xcel
09-06-2006, 02:54 AM
Automakers may have sold cars and light trucks at an annual rate of 16.66 million vehicles, down from 16.85 million in August. (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=awTB.a_mBM7Y&refer=home)
Bill Koenig and Barbara Powell - Bloomberg News - Sept. 1, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_F-150.jpg
Fewer Americans consider P/U trucks practical.
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, said its U.S. sales of cars and trucks fell 12 percent to 255,112 in August.
The decline was from 288,429 a year earlier, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said today in a statement on PR Newswire. The figures include imports and heavy-duty trucks.
Sales for Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler ``are going to be down because of the continuing struggle for pickups and full-size SUVs,'' said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, before the results were released.
Industry-wide sales may have dropped 1.1 percent in August, the average forecast of analysts and economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. General Motors Corp. sales were projected to rise for the first time since January, primarily because vehicle supplies were crimped in August 2005 after two months of employee-discount offers to all buyers.
Asian automakers may have benefited from demand for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles as gasoline prices hit an 11- month high in early August.
A drop in consumer confidence last month to the lowest level since November may have hurt U.S. automakers, whose top- selling models are pickups: Ford's F-series, GM's Silverado and Chrysler's Dodge Ram. Pickup buyers include construction companies and workers.
Slowing Economy
''Our economy is starting to slow down,'' said IRN Inc. auto analyst Erich Merkle in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ``As that happens, those pickup sales are going to falter.''
Automakers may have sold cars and light trucks at an annual rate of 16.66 million vehicles, down from 16.85 million in August, according to the Bloomberg survey. Sales hit a 17.2 million annual rate in July, trailing only January this year.
Ford last month said it was cutting fourth-quarter production in North America by 21 percent to help clear dealer lots. The cuts will affect 10 plants in the region, including four factories that make F-Series trucks, the industry's top- selling vehicle line.
Ford recorded a $1.44 billion loss in the first half of 2006. Chrysler also is planning a fourth-quarter output cut. GM will announce its fourth-quarter plans later today.
Sales by Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. may rise at least 10 percent, said Xavier Dominicis, a spokesman for Toyota's U.S. sales unit in Torrance, California.
Results will probably exceed Toyota's July record sales of 241,826 on demand for fuel-efficient cars such as the Yaris.
Daily Rate
Some automakers, including GM, report adjusted results based on daily selling rates. There were 27 selling days last month, one more than in August 2005. Bloomberg reports unadjusted sales comparisons, which are about 4 percentage points higher than adjusted figures.
The price of regular unleaded gasoline reached $3.04 a gallon last month, the highest since September 2005, before declining in recent weeks, according to AAA, the nation's largest automobile drivers club. The New York-based Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell below 100 in August for the first time since November.
Bill Koenig and Barbara Powell - Bloomberg News - Sept. 1, 2006
http://www.cleanmpg.com/photos/data/501/06_F-150.jpg
Fewer Americans consider P/U trucks practical.
Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, said its U.S. sales of cars and trucks fell 12 percent to 255,112 in August.
The decline was from 288,429 a year earlier, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said today in a statement on PR Newswire. The figures include imports and heavy-duty trucks.
Sales for Ford and DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler ``are going to be down because of the continuing struggle for pickups and full-size SUVs,'' said Rebecca Lindland, an analyst at Global Insight Inc. in Lexington, Massachusetts, before the results were released.
Industry-wide sales may have dropped 1.1 percent in August, the average forecast of analysts and economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. General Motors Corp. sales were projected to rise for the first time since January, primarily because vehicle supplies were crimped in August 2005 after two months of employee-discount offers to all buyers.
Asian automakers may have benefited from demand for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles as gasoline prices hit an 11- month high in early August.
A drop in consumer confidence last month to the lowest level since November may have hurt U.S. automakers, whose top- selling models are pickups: Ford's F-series, GM's Silverado and Chrysler's Dodge Ram. Pickup buyers include construction companies and workers.
Slowing Economy
''Our economy is starting to slow down,'' said IRN Inc. auto analyst Erich Merkle in Grand Rapids, Michigan. ``As that happens, those pickup sales are going to falter.''
Automakers may have sold cars and light trucks at an annual rate of 16.66 million vehicles, down from 16.85 million in August, according to the Bloomberg survey. Sales hit a 17.2 million annual rate in July, trailing only January this year.
Ford last month said it was cutting fourth-quarter production in North America by 21 percent to help clear dealer lots. The cuts will affect 10 plants in the region, including four factories that make F-Series trucks, the industry's top- selling vehicle line.
Ford recorded a $1.44 billion loss in the first half of 2006. Chrysler also is planning a fourth-quarter output cut. GM will announce its fourth-quarter plans later today.
Sales by Toyota City, Japan-based Toyota Motor Corp. may rise at least 10 percent, said Xavier Dominicis, a spokesman for Toyota's U.S. sales unit in Torrance, California.
Results will probably exceed Toyota's July record sales of 241,826 on demand for fuel-efficient cars such as the Yaris.
Daily Rate
Some automakers, including GM, report adjusted results based on daily selling rates. There were 27 selling days last month, one more than in August 2005. Bloomberg reports unadjusted sales comparisons, which are about 4 percentage points higher than adjusted figures.
The price of regular unleaded gasoline reached $3.04 a gallon last month, the highest since September 2005, before declining in recent weeks, according to AAA, the nation's largest automobile drivers club. The New York-based Conference Board's consumer confidence index fell below 100 in August for the first time since November.