GM, Ford Cite Slow Truck Sales for Dip in October

General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. on Tuesday reported selling fewer vehicles in October, as expected, with lower truck sales cooling the industry’s performance from its strong third-quarter pace.

GM sales fell 4% as compact pickup and sport-utility vehicle sales declined more than expected. Ford sales fell 1.9%, in part because of lower minivan sales. Toyota Motor Corp. reported a 2.9% increase as sales of its Lexus luxury division surged 24%.

Consumers appeared to take a breather after a solid third quarter, but the sales outlook for 1997 remains robust, analysts said.

“We’re seeing a bit of a slowdown,” said David Bradley, an analyst with J.P. Morgan Securities Inc. “It’s a modest softening. It’s not good news, it’s not bad news, but neutral news.”

GM said car sales were flat compared with October 1996, while sales of pickups, minivans and sport-utilities dropped 8%. Ford said car and light-truck sales each fell 2% compared with last year.

It was the first time since August 1996 that Ford reported a sales decline in light trucks, and it was the first time this year that all of the Big Three reported such a decrease.

On Monday, Chrysler Corp. said sales fell 8% last month, largely because of a supply shortage of mid-sized sedans.

But analysts and auto makers said the drop was due to a record-setting month in October 1996 rather than a shrinking demand for beefy pickups and sport-utility vehicles.

“We have entered a period where favorable year-to-year truck sales comparisons will be increasingly difficult to achieve because the base is so high,” said Bob Rewey, Ford’s vice president of marketing.

In New York Stock Exchange trading, GM shares fell 44 cents to close at $66.69; Ford shares rose 13 cents to close at $46.44; Chrysler shares fell 56 cents to close at $35.94.

Art Spinella, an analyst with CNW Marketing Research, said the sales dip is typical of a year in which sales results have zigzagged. “No one made a killing, and no one got buried, either,” he said.

Consumers are awaiting sweeter deals before they buy, in the meantime getting by with their reliable older vehicles, Spinella said.

Ford light trucks posting some of the biggest drops included the Windstar minivan, which fell 25%, and the popular F-Series pickup, which had one of its biggest declines of the year at 10%.