We all know that the auto industry has been in crisis over the past year, and February was yet another tough month for auto sales, with hefty declines in sales for the major companies.Analysts have been hoping that the auto industry is going to turn the corner during the second half of this year, but we are still waiting for any sign that things are getting back to normal as General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM), Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) and Toyota Motor company (NYSE: TM) all reported major drops in sales last month.
We are still waiting for all the sales figures to come in for the month, but it appears as though February will be the worst month on record all the way back to 1981.
Let's start with General Motors. Having already been forced to accept government assistance, the company is now looking to get more help as it continues to try to stay in business. While some analysts have been looking for a bottom to the rocky auto market this year, GM Chief Financial Officer
Ford also put up some pretty dismal numbers for the month. On a year over year basis, Ford saw its sales dip by 48%. While Ford is arguably in the best position of the American auto makers, it would be a mistake to believe that the company is going to be able to withstand the inevitable impact of the current recession if consumers don't start to return to show room floors sooner than later.
In a move that reflects its view of the upcoming months, Ford has announced that it is going to be producing 38% fewer vehicles than it did during the same period last year.
Looking across the ocean, America's biggest rival, Toyota also had a tough month. It's U.S. sales dropped by 40%. Slightly better than its American competitors, but nothing to be happy about.
While it seems like things for the auto makers just can't get any worse, it is hard to imagine things getting much better in the months to come. Unless the market starts to rebound, there are going to be a lot more production cuts and layoffs during the rest of this year, impacting not only the major auto makers, but suppliers and dealers.
At the current rate, 2009 is going to wind up the lowest numbers of auto sales in decades.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
3-04-2009 @ 5:27AM
jason said...
Beware of Auto dealers on repairing your car.Here in Indy we took our car to penskys to get a oil leak checked. It was a power steering leak(busted hose).They told us it would be $1600 for a new power steering pump we thought that was too much so we took it to another private (honest) repair shop,they said all it needed was a new power steering hose cost $80 to repair.The dealers aren't selling as many cars so they're ripping off people in their repair facilities to make more money..I'm not saying all are crooks but beware