Disembowelling America Pt 93

General Motors (still) the world's largest automaker, saw 11% decline in November U.S. sales while Ford Motor Co said sales fell 18 percent. Both saw catastrophic declines in SUV sales. DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said U.S. November sales fell 7 percent, ending 19 consecutive months of year-over-year gains.

Meanwhile Asian constructors hit a record 40% of the US market in October, and Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. Ltd. claimed sales gains for November of 5.6 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively.

Nissan Motor Co. Ltd. said its U.S. sales slipped 7.8 percent, its second consecutive monthly decline.

GM's U.S. market share slipped 1.2% to 23.8 percent, (2 years ago =30%) while Ford's slipped 2.5 points to 17.2 percent.

Toyota, jumped 1.7 points in market share to 14.6 %. Honda gained 1.1 points to 9.1%.

Production levels are closely-watched because U.S automakers book profits on vehicles when they are shipped from assembly plants, not on sales through the dealer.

GM has recently published plans to produce 1.28 million vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2005 and 1.25 million vehicles in the first quarter of 2006, up from 1.18 million units a year earlier.

Last week GM said it would cut 30,000 jobs and close a dozen plants in the United States and Canada. GM will sharply scale back production at its Saturn plant in Spring Hill, Tennessee, resulting in some 1,500 job losses. Over 2,500 jobs will be eliminated in Oklahoma City, and 3,000 workers will lose their jobs in Doraville, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta.

Ford announced today (WSJ) it is “likely” to close five plants that employ about 7,500 workers, or about 6 percent of the company's North American workforce. The plants rumoured to shutter are in St. Louis, Atlanta and St. Paul, Minn., as well as an engine-parts plant in Windsor, Ontario, and a truck-assembly plant in Cuautitlan, Mexico.

Since 2000, more than 100,000 hourly and salaried automotive jobs have been eliminated in the US.

The downsizing of the US auto industry is producing socially catastrophic consequences , for example in in Michigan. The Detroit Free Press on Tuesday quoting Us census data said ,“Michigan’s median household income has fallen by $9,914—19 percent—between 1999 and 2004, more than any other state.”

Truck sales at Ford fell nearly 18 percent, with some of its largest SUVs such as the Expedition falling nearly 44 percent in November. Sales of Ford's popular Explorer model plunged 52 percent.

Ford cut its fourth-quarter production target by 20,000 units to 790,000 vehicles. For the first quarter of 2006, Ford plans to build 885,000 vehicles, down from the 908,000 units it produced a year earlier.

GM launched a "Red Tag" sale, in November in which anyone in the United States could buy a vehicle for the price paid by its auto parts suppliers' employees. Combined with existing rebates, the program offered a discount of more than $10,000 on some of GM's largest SUVs, a greater savings than the automaker's summer sales incentives.

Chrysler offered customers two years of free gasoline, worth close to $2,400 each. Ford offered a more complicated program offering reduced prices and rebates.

At close of business GM traded at $22.31 and Ford at $8.10.

Truck sales at Ford fell nearly 18 percent, with some of its largest SUVs such as the Expedition falling nearly 44 percent in November. Sales of Ford's popular Explorer model plunged 52 percent.

Overall vehicle sales are forecast by the industry (at a seasonally adjusted annual rate) to be about 15.7 million in November. Last year, the U.S. vehicle sales rate in November was 16.6 million.