Vehicle sales in January fell well short of last year's totals as the Big Three automakers reported slowing sales across the board.
Total vehicle sales for
General Motors (GM Quote - Cramer on GM - Stock Picks) fell 5.1% for the month. The number of vehicles sold fell to 343,548 from 348,213. Car sales declined 4% to 177,192 units and truck sales fell 6.3% to 166,356 units.
"Industry sales in 2000 exceeded the 18-million-unit selling rate for five months out of the year, and February sales shattered the 19-million-unit mark," GE said in a statement. "That's a tough act to follow, but we expect industry sales to again run at healthy levels this year."
Ford(F Quote - Cramer on F - Stock Picks) said sales fell 11% to 260,108 units from 281,169 units in January 2000. Car sales fell 19.6% to 96,579 from 115,505 last year. Truck sales fell 5.1% to a total of 163,529 in the month, down from the 165,664 in the year-ago period.
Ford also said the sluggish sales aren't an indication of things to come. "We believe the present weak period of economic performance will be relatively brief and should give way to improved business conditions later this year," the company said in a statement.
DaimlerChrysler(DCX Quote - Cramer on DCX - Stock Picks), which recently announced
major layoffs, said the total number of vehicles sold in the U.S. in January fell 16% to 160,680 units. The Auburn Hills, Mich., company said car sales fell 22% to 43,063 units, and truck sales dropped 14%, to 117,617 units.
"In January, we lost some momentum in the marketplace because of the uncertainty surrounding our recovery," the company said in a press release. "By announcing a major portion of our turnaround plan earlier this week, we will recapture that momentum."
Chris Frankie
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