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Strategies & Market Trends : The Amateur Traders Corner -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DanWebzster who wrote (8850)	5/1/2001 2:15:41 PM
From: Tom Hua	Respond to of 19633

Tuesday May 1, 1:13 pm Eastern Time Ford reports slower sales, cuts production By Justin Hyde DETROIT, May 1 (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co. (NYSE:F - news) said Tuesday its U.S. sales fell 15.7 percent in April, a steeper- than-expected drop that forced a 3 percent cut in second- quarter production forecast. The results came as automakers braced for a downshift from a better-than-expected first quarter, as flagging consumer confidence lowered interest in new cars and trucks. Industry analysts had predicted that U.S. car and light truck sales for April would fall 8 percent to 12 percent to their weakest levels since December. Ford said its car sales were down 21.9 percent, while truck sales fell 11.6 percent. The results exclude heavy trucks and Ford's upscale foreign brands -- Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover. Sales of the all-new Explorer sport utility vehicle, a key to Ford's profits, were down 15.7 percent to 30,503 in the first full month of sales. Nonetheless, Ford said the Explorer was still the best-selling SUV in the United States. The world's second-largest automaker had to recall about 12,000 Explorers and Mercury Mountaineers last month to fix a problem with the rear window. Ford said it was cutting its second-quarter North American production forecast by 40,000 vehicles to 1.19 million, 10 percent below the same period last year. It had said it would cut second-quarter production 7 percent. There was no immediate word on possible layoffs stemming from the deeper cut in vehicle output. ``April auto sales suggest consumer spending growth may have weakened compared with the first quarter,'' Martin Inglis, vice president of Ford North America, said in a statement. Ford President and CEO Jacques Nasser said Monday he expected second-quarter sales to run at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 16.5 million vehicles, off from the rate of 17.3 million in the first quarter. Inglis said the lower rate was still healthy and together with lower interest rates, ``lays the groundwork for stronger economic growth later this year and into next year.'' Other automakers were set to report sales later Tuesday. General Motors Corp. (NYSE:GM - news) and the Chrysler side of DaimlerChrysler AG (NYSE:DCX - news) were both expected to report double-digit decreases in monthly sales, while foreign automakers were expected to report smaller declines. Chrysler President and CEO Dieter Zetsche said Monday the automaker's sales were thought to have fallen at a greater rate than the rest of the industry in April due to a ``miscommunication'' with its dealers over penalties for missing sales targets.