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Ford F-150 pickup trucks at a dealership in Colma, California, on Friday, July 22, 2022.
David Paul Morris | Bloomberg | Getty Images
DETROIT – Ford Motor’s US sales last month fell 10% as the automaker struggled with supply chain issues that delayed shipments to dealers.
The Detroit automaker on Wednesday reported sales of 158,327 new vehicles in October, down from nearly 176,000 units sold in the same month last year. That was the second straight month of year-over-year declines after two months of double-digit gains on weak sales that were hampered by semiconductor shortages.
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Ford’s October sales were far below the overall industry. Edmunds reported that total vehicle sales increased 9.1% compared to a year earlier with nearly 1.2 million vehicles sold.
Ford has experienced unique supply chain issues recently, including the acquisition of its blue oval badges for highly profitable pickup trucks and SUVs. The automaker had about 40,000 vehicles waiting for parts to end the third quarter. It said last week it expects to complete and ship those vehicles to dealers by the end of the year.
Andrew Frick, Ford’s vice president of sales, distribution and trucks, said the automaker “continues to see strong demand for its vehicles” amid rising interest rates, record inflation and recessionary fears.
Ford said orders for 2023 model-year vehicles reached 255,000. About half of those were retail sales from previously placed orders, according to the company.
Sales of Ford’s most profitable F-Series pickup fell 17.4% last month from October 2021, contributing to a roughly 13% year-to-date decline heading into the final two months of the year. The company sold 11,196 models of its all-electric F-150 Lightning pickup through October, including 2,436 vehicles last month.
Ford’s 2022 all-electric vehicle sales reached about 47,500 units through October, accounting for about 3% of the automaker’s sales. Most of the sales were Mustang Mach-E crossovers, which were up 44% compared to last year to more than 31,000 units.
Year-to-date sales of all Ford vehicles, including its Lincoln luxury brand, totaled 1.54 million units through October, a 2.2% decline from a year earlier.
Ford was among the few automakers to report new monthly vehicle sales. Others — such as General Motors and Stelantisformerly Fiat Chrysler — report only quarterly sales.
Ford’s October sales came a week after the company posted a net loss of $827 million in the third quarter, weighed down by supply chain problems and costs related to winding down its autonomous vehicle unit Argo AI.
The carmaker last week updated its guidance to forecast full-year adjusted earnings before interest and taxes of about $11.5 billion – the low end of its previous revenue forecast. It raised its full-year adjusted free cash flow forecast, however, to between $9.5 billion and $10 billion – from $5.5 billion to $6.5 billion – on strength in the company’s auto operations.
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