Oxstones Investment Club™The auto industry’s recovery continued to show signs of solidifying last month, as car makers reported high sales driven mostly by truck purchases.
Ford Motor reported the greatest jump sales, as revenue increased 13%, in the best June in seven years. Chrysler Group sales increased 8%, and General Motors sales ticked up 6%–increases that represented the largest gains in more than five years for both car makers.
Trucks led the way. Ford’s F-series sales increased by 19.9% from a year earlier, while Chrysler showed a 23% increase in sales of its Ram trucks. At General Motors, trucks increased 8%.
Overall, Ford’s sales last month rose by 13%, the best June for the auto manufacturer in since 2006. Chrysler showed a 8% increase in sales. That was Chrysler’s best June since 2007.
Along with trucks, small cars are the hot item that Detriot can’t make fast enough. Revenue from Ford’s compact sedans, the Fiesta, Focus and C-Max, was up 39%. At Chrysler, Dodge sales gained 12%, on strength from the new Dodge Dart.
Across the auto industry, numbers from the major car makers–General Motors GM +0.44% and Nissan Motor will also report today–are likely to
highlight increased prices and greater profitability. Lower interest rates, credit availability and increased home construction are creating a boom time for the auto makers, and it doesn’t seem as if high gas prices and uncertainty in the financial markets are hurting.
Across the industry, analysts expect a 6.9% increase in car sales last month, with 1.37 million new cars and truck sold.
Shares of Ford this morning gained 1.7% to $16. GM increased 1.3% to $34.44.
“Within the last month we saw a slowing stock market and a stalled unemployment recovery, but the automotive market continues to shine through it all,” says Jessica Caldwell, a Edmunds.com senior analyst. “The first half of 2013 was every bit as strong as the auto industry could expect at the beginning of the year, and there’s no reason why the next six months can’t maintain the same momentum.”
Source-Forbes.com http://www.forbes.com/sites/abrambrown/2013/07/02/u-s-auto-sales-speed-up-chrysler-posts-best-june-since-2007/
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