Chicago 01/09/2016 - Automakers are reporting their respective August sales figure today and the early results are concerning.
Ford and General Motors – the largest North American producers – reported month-over-month declines and failed to meet analyst expectations. Only Fiat Chrysler was able to show modest growth. Ford posted an 8.8 percent drop, while GM's sales declined 5.2 percent year-over-year, -9.8 percent and -5.7 percent were expected, according to Edmunds.com.
It could represent a growing theme for the industry, according to Ford executives. Following years of pent-up demand following the Great Recession, customers kept aging vehicles and generally drove fewer miles than previous years.
However, last year saw customers returning in droves to auto-dealers nationwide with total sales toppling 18 million units. But it would be "really tough" to match the sales performance of 2015, Ford officials said today in a conference call.
Analysts forecast that sales rose at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 17.2 million in August, a downward revision of the 17.9 million estimate in July.
Still, sales remain sharply above 2008-2009 levels and GM's chief economist Mustafa Mohatarem sees the industry having a strong second half of the year.
The downslide has already started impact base metal consumption Net shipments of aluminium sheet and plate in July by US and Canadian producers were just 308,000 tonnes, off 4.6 percent year-on-year. Compared to the previous month, shipments decreased 6.8 percent, the Aluminum Association reported.
Additionally, net new orders of aluminium mill products for July decreased 9.9 percent from the previous month. Orders for flat roll products were down 8.3 percent while orders for extruded products declined 13.6 percent and orders for redraw rod were off 19.4 percent. Compared to July 2015, orders were down 2.5 percent.
The raw data and new sales numbers support Ford's estimation that 2015 was a highpoint for the industry and another record year is likely off the table.
Ford share prices were last down 17 cents or 1.4 percent to $12.43 per share on the New York Stock Exchange. GM shares stood at $31.88, down four cents or 0.1 percent.
(Editing by Tom Jennemann)