Ford Sales, Not All Roses (NYSE:F)

The picture for auto sales at Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F) may appear all rosy, but it might be wise to consider the recent sales in a long-term context.  It seems that in reviewing long-term stats, the auto industry becomes a little less appealing.

The automaker has been on a good run, as Ford made a 70+% gain in the last four months.  Sold At The Top dives into the matter regarding the sales outlook deeper, saying that, “Although today’s vehicle sales results are coming in generally better than expected, putting the current results together with recent historic trends should leave one with a less-than-bullish outlook for autos.

Looking at the Department of Commerce light vehicle sales series you can see that although sales appear to be on a tear recently, the latest results are comped on a year-over-year basis against the horrendously weak sales seen in early 2009.

Further, the trends for the better part of the last decade have been terrible for autos with sales, more or less, in a slow declining trend since 1999 and the current level of sales last seen way back in early 1983.”

Given that credit conditions are likely to get worse, unemployment is at an all-time high and the long-term trend for auto sales, the recent auto sales provide only a glimmer of hope in an industry that has been showing weakness for a decade.

See full article and charts here.