US June auto sales plummet 19% year on year

01 July 2008 22:33  [Source: ICIS news]

HOUSTON (ICIS news)--US automobile sales among some of the country's top producers plunged 19% in June, companies said on Tuesday.

Many US auto producers reported year-over-year declines for both car and truck sales.

Automobiles are an important chemical end market, in that each has an average of $2,400 (€1,512) worth of chemistry, according to the American Chemistry Council (ACC). Automobile parts include rubber hoses, plastic dashboards, catalysts, fibres, adhesives and coatings.  

Falling US automobile sales are already trickling down to chemical producers.

Dow Chemical said its automotive unit will close three plants because of a drop in automobile sales.

Several plastic processors tied to the automobile industry have filed for bankruptcy protection.

Chrysler reported some of the worse June sales figures among the major producers in the US. Car sales fell by 49% year over year, and truck sales fell by 30%.

“The June results reflect the industry-wide impact of US consumer confidence being at its lowest point since 1992,” according to a statement by Jim Press, Chrysler president.

GM and Ford also reported double-digit declines in car and truck sales.

Honda, however, reported a 19% increase in June car sales. Honda's car sales outnumbered those for trucks by more than two to one.

Toyota's car sales rose by 5%. However, truck sales fell by 31%, causing the company to report a decline in overall automobile sales.

The following lists combined car and truck sales among the largest producers in the US.

	June 08	June 07
Honda	142,539	140,935
Toyota	193,234	218,513
GM	262,329	320,668
Ford	167,090	232,457
Chrysler	117,457	183,347
TOTAL	882,649	1,095,920

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