Ford Full-Year US Sales Down 1.1%; December Up

By Paul Ausick Updated Jan 12, 4:54AM EST · Published Jan 3, 10:20AM EST

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Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F) on Wednesday reported a U.S. sales year-over-over decrease of 1.1% for 2017. Sales totaled 2.587 million units compared with 2.615 million sold in 2016. Passenger car sales dropped 14.2% while sport utility vehicle sales rose 2.9% and truck sales rose 4.3%.

For December, Ford reported an increase of 0.9% year over year to 242,049 Ford and Lincoln vehicles, compared with December 2016 sales of 239,854. Passenger car sales fell 5.5% in the month and SUV sales rose 8%.

Truck sales dipped 1% for the month, and sales of F-Series pickups increased by 2.1%. Total retail sales fell 4% year over year in December to 176,164 units and fleet sales jumped 16.8% to 65,885 units.

Total monthly sales compare to an estimate of 232,000 by analysts Kelley Blue Book (KBB), who also estimated an average transaction price of $40,421, up 2.5% year over year and up 1% compared with November’s average selling price of $40,023. KBB transaction prices do not include applied consumer incentives.

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Sales of the Ford F-Series pickups rose 2.1% year over year in December to 89,385 units, and F-Series transaction prices rose $3,400 year over year to $47,800.

Truck sales comprised 45.8% of all Ford-brand sales in December, and the F-Series pickups accounted for nearly 37% of total monthly sales.

Total Ford SUV sales rose 8% year over year in December, with the Explorer seeing a gain of 33.3% and the Edge gaining 7.6%.

Ford Mustang sales rose by 9.2% year over year. Fiesta sales fell by 3% and Fusion sales fell 8.8% year over year. Ford’s Focus brand sales rose 9.7% to 11,237 units.

Sales of the Lincoln brand slipped by 17% year over year in December as sales of Lincoln cars tumbled 25.5%. Car sales totaled 3,509 units in the month and utility vehicle sales totaled 7,110 units. SUV sales fell 12% year over year in December.

Ford reported 68 days of total inventory, down from 78 in November and from 82 in December of last year. Dealer stock totaled 56 days of supply, down from 62 days in November and from 61 last year.

Ford’s stock traded up about 0.4% early Wednesday at $12.71. The 52-week range is $10.47 to $13.27 and the 12-month consensus price target is $12.67.

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About the Author Paul Ausick →

Paul Ausick has been writing for a673b.bigscoots-temp.com for more than a decade. He has written extensively on investing in the energy, defense, and technology sectors. In a previous life, he wrote technical documentation and managed a marketing communications group in Silicon Valley.

He has a bachelor's degree in English from the University of Chicago and now lives in Montana, where he fishes for trout in the summer and stays inside during the winter.