Automakers, analysts expect June sales drop
7/1/08
Auto sells hit rock bottom...auto makers in state of dread
Weak sales slam auto makers.

CNNMONEY.COM July 1 2008
Weaker sales than expected
Other big automakers missed forecasts, however.
Toyota Motor (TM) reported a 21% drop in U.S. sales in June from a year ago, far worse than the forecast from Edmunds.com of only a 12% drop in sales. It was the biggest year-over-year decline in U.S. sales in 10 years for Toyota.

The Japanese automaker, which is No. 2 in U.S. vehicle sales, saw a 15.6% jump in sales of its compact Corolla. But sales of its fuel efficient subcompact Yaris, as well as of the Camry, Toyota's best selling U.S. model going into this month, declined slightly. The Prius, the nation's best-selling hybrid offering, saw its sales fall by a third, due to tight supplies.

Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500), the No. 3 automaker in terms of U.S. sales, posted a 28% decline in sales -- steeper than Edmunds.com's forecasts of a 25% drop. Ford saw demand for its SUVs plunge by more than half and for pickups and other trucks fall more than a third.
Even crossovers, a sign of strength in the light truck segment until recently, saw sales off 18% from a year earlier, as buyers went searching for more fuel efficient vehicles in the face of record $4 gas prices. But Ford apparently didn't have the car models buyers were looking for, as its car sales fell 12%.

Weak demand or not enough supply?
Bob Schnorbus, chief economist for J.D. Power & Associates, said the sudden shift in demand for smaller, fuel-efficient vehicles came at the worst possible time for the industry.

That's because automakers were not able to quickly ramp up production of the cars now in hot demand due to scheduled plant shutdowns to gear up for production of next year's models.
Making matters worse, Schnorbus said rising gas prices and the overall sluggish economy are making consumers reluctant to hit dealerships,

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The Truckers Report Merchandise

The loss from the American car companies saddens me terribly, but not the others!! I was talking to a fellow who retired from the Ford stamping plant, he said that 8 years ago there where 5000 employed now there ar around 600, that is a huge drop in the numbers, I noticed there seemed to be a lot less vehichles in the parking lot these days, but would have never guesed that many less?

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