NewsMine — economy — united-states — 2004 — 2004-june-aug — Viewing Item

GM and Ford suffer sharp fall in June sales { July 1 2004 } Original Source Link: (May no longer be active)    http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373413313&p=1012571727085 http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1087373413313&p=1012571727085 GM and Ford suffer sharp fall in June sales By Jeremy Grant in Chicago Published: July 1 2004 20:51 | Last Updated: July 1 2004 20:51 Sales of General Motors and Ford vehicles fell sharply in June - despite persistent use of financing incentives - as Detroit's two biggest carmakers battled to fend off their Japanese rivals amid a strengthening US economy. Both carmakers also reported inventories at higher then expected levels, as well as a 5 per cent fall each in sales to retail customers, traditionally a more profitable market than rental fleets. "Quite simply, June was tough," said Paul Ballew, GM's director of market and industry analysis. The world's largest carmaker said June sales were down by 15 per cent compared to last year. Ford's were down 7.7 per cent, the 12th consecutive monthly fall in the last 14 months. George Pipas, Ford's manager of sales analysis and reporting, said that June's sales had been "a little downside surprise" but that the industry's overall sales so far this year were at an annualised 17m units, still roughly where the carmaker had forecast at the start of the year. By contrast, Chrysler - the US unit of Germany's DaimlerChrysler - saw its June sales rise by 1 per cent, helped by brisk sales of its new 300C vehicle. Chrysler branded vehicles notched up a 21 per cent increase in sales over the previous year, while Dodge and Jeep were up by 5 per cent. Some analysts said that the weak performance was becasue of an unexpectedly strong May. Brian Glassman, senior economist at Bank One in Chicago, said: "There was such a huge incentive and advertising blitz that a lot of sales were pulled forward." In contrast to GM and Ford, Japanese, European and other Asian carmakers did well, with sales of Honda and its luxury Acura unit rising by 1 per cent to record levels. Toyota's sales rose 5.2 per cent. Concern is re-emerging among some analysts that the two largest Detroit carmakers have yet to demonstrate they have taken sufficient steps to restore sustainable profitability in the face of Japanese competition and heavy fixed, pension and healthcare costs. Rod Lache, auto analyst at Deutsche Bank, said in a report: "All three US automakers have shown some signs of success at executing turnround. But we expect 'big three' [market] share to decline further. Automakers won't be able to offset volume declines with better margins." One bright spot for the industry came with luxury vehicles, for which carmakers can usually charge more than basic models. BMW said sales were up 14 per cent, while sales of GM's luxury Cadillac division were up by 10 per cent.

Att profit plummets stops residential service Consumer prices gain at slower pace in june { July 17 2004 } Consumer prices rise in may Consumer spending wanes and growth slows Defense spending helps small town jobs { May 11 2004 } Dollar declines against euro Dollar falls 3 week low versus euro Dow falls below 10k level Dow sinks to 2004 lows on oil prices hp earnings Dow strumbles on growth fears { July 24 2004 } Employment growth surprisingly weak in july { August 6 2004 } Fed boosts rate a quarter point Fed raises rates in august First quarter economic growth slows Food fuel advance consumer prices in may GM and Ford suffer sharp fall in June sales { July 1 2004 } Gold to hold above 400 this year and next { July 19 2004 } Greenspan says fed ready to act on inflation { June 8 2004 } Hourly pay not keeping up with price rises { July 18 2004 } Inflationary pressures building Price index higher than expected Report says 9 perc layoffs due to outsourcing { June 10 2004 } Stocks dip on inflation fears Stocks end lower after profit warning Stocks fall july 19 2004 Stocks fall sharply on weak job figures Stocks flat on greenspan raising interest rate worries Stocks higher on news of fed rate hike Stocks sag as oil prices steam higher Stocks tumble early aug on oil worries { August 5 2004 } Trade deficit sours US jobs growth slows down US stocks give back opening gains US trade gap widened in april to record 48b { June 14 2004 } Workers lack skills says greenspan { July 22 2004 } Files Listed: 35

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