U.S. Sept. Auto Sales Down, But Better Than Expected

Despite overall U.S. auto sales falling 3% in the month of September, to 1.3 million vehicles, the results were better than industry analysts expected, considering concerns over the impact of subprime and monthly sales declines of 0.6%, 12% and 3% since June. GM recorded its second straight month of higher sales, although only up by 0.28% to 334.874 autos sold. GM says it lost production of 30,000 autos due to a two-day United Auto Workers strike late in Sept. Ford's sales declined for an 11th straight month, plunging 21% to 189,000 vehicles, hurt by a 39% drop in car sales and a 9% fall in truck sales. DaimlerChrysler's sales were off by 5.4% to 159,799 vehicles. Toyota's sales were lower for a third consecutive month, -4.4% to 213,043, although Toyota warned it was up against a tough comparison, having registered 25% sales growth last Sept. Honda posted a 9.4% increase in sales to 127,200, while Nissan's sales rose 6.7% to 94,269. On Tuesday, shares of GM gained 2.8% to $37.05, Ford climbed 4.1% to $8.57, DaimlerChrysler lost 0.01% to $103.29, Toyota fell 0.4% to $118.23, Honda rose 0.15% to $33.73 and Nissan gained 1.3% to $20.52.

Sources: Chicago Tribune, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal
Commentary: GM-UAW Deal Good News For Stockholders ・Toyota's September Sales May Disappoint ・U.S. Auto Sales Decline Slows in August, GM Posts Surprising Gain
Stocks/ETFs to watch: GM, F, DAI, TM, HMC, NSANY

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