Ford Motor Co.'s U.S. sales fell 4 percent in October, marking the automaker's fifth straight monthly decline, while deliveries at Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Hyundai and Kia fell for the third consecutive month as tight chip supplies and other bottlenecks continue to undermine light-vehicle output and dealer stockpiles.
In a signal the market may have bottomed out, the seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales came in at 13.1 million, Motor Intelligence and Morgan Stanley said Wednesday, near the high end of forecasts -- 11.8 million to 13.5 million -- from Cox Automotive, J.D. Power/LMC Automotive and TrueCar. The SAAR hit 16.44 million in October 2020 and had fallen each month to a low this year of 12.27 million in September since hitting a 2021 high of 18.5 million in April.
Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas said industry sales fell 23 percent last month, also within the range of forecasts, with light trucks accounting for 81 percent of volume.
Sales dropped 3.3 percent at the Ford division and 17 percent at Lincoln, with the automaker's latest overall decline the smallest this year. Ford's biggest sellers also posted declines, led by the F-series pickup, down 4.7 percent. Overall, Ford Motor Co. said truck sales fell 7 percent while crossover and SUV deliveries rose 13 percent, helped by new models such as the Mustang Mach-E, Bronco Sport and Bronco.
Ford said gross inventory continued to grow last month, increasing by 7,000 over September levels to total 243,000 at the end of October.