Updated May 1, 2013, 10:15 a.m. ET.

Truck Surge Revs GM, Ford, Chrysler Sales

By MIKE RAMSEY

U.S. pickup truck sales boomed in April, lifting Detroit's auto makers as increasing home construction spurred new-vehicle purchases by contractors and tradesmen.

Chrysler Group LLC said sales of its Ram pickups shot up 49% last month

and Ford Motor Co. F -2.14%said its F-series truck sales jumped 24% while General Motors Co.

GM -1.71%said combined sales of its Silverado and GMC Sierra rose 23%.

Among other large auto makers, Toyota Motor Corp.'s 7203.TO -1.60%U.S. sales fell 1.1%, while Nissan Motor Co., 7201.TO -1.67%Honda Motor Co. 7267.TO -1.42%and Hyundai Motor Co. 005380.SE +1.27%reported U.S. gains of 23%, 7.4% and 1.7%, respectively.

Overall, industry sales for April are expected to rise 10% from a year earlier, according to auto information website Edmunds.com. Full results are expected later in the day as auto makers complete their monthly sales reports.


For the Detroit auto makers, demand for trucks especially among contractors in the home building industry has been long-awaited. Full-size pickups are big moneymakers for the companies, producing margins that can be as much as eight to 10 times that of a sedan, some analysts estimate.

Rich Savino, the owner of All American Ford in Old Bridge, N.J., said his dealership's F-series truck sales are up a "spectacular" 74% this year through April, with tradesmen replacing old trucks as new home developments pop up.

"I am getting the contractors coming in and expanding their fleets," said Mr. Savino. "This is the start of it. When the trades and contractors are coming in and complaining they can't hire enough people—that kind of stuff to me is a better indicator of the direction we are going" than the other economic indicators.

Sales of pickups have historically been tied to housing construction. Real estate has been rebounding this year, with prices up and new housing starts surging by more than a third over the first quarter of 2012. Pickup truck sales have risen by 20% this year through April—three times faster than the other vehicle segments, Ford said in a conference call with reporters.

Vinny Sessa, owner of New Jersey Best Lawns, Sprinkler and Fencing, bought nine F-series trucks this year from Mr. Savino to replace his aging fleet. "We were busy; we had to add to the fleet. But we were replacing some old trucks too," he said.

The surge in demand may force Ford to boost its manufacturing capacity. Ford is running its F-150 plant near Kansas City, Mo., on two shifts. Chrysler, which is majority owned by Italy's Fiat SpA, F.MI -2.07%in March said it would add a third shift to its Warren, Mich., truck plant.

"We are building everything we can right now," said Erich Merkle, Ford's sales analyst. "We will continue to monitor the [capacity] situation."

Chrysler's big increase came in part because of greater availability of its heavier duty commercial Ram pickups, which were recently redesigned and have just begun rolling into dealerships, a spokesman said.

In 2011, GM added a third shift to its Flint, Mich., truck plant in anticipation of the housing recovery. The recovery came, but many months later than the Detroit-based company had anticipated, and for a period GM, had too much inventory.

GM's overall sales rose 11% while Ford said sales of cars and light trucks vehicles rose 18% and Chrysler logged an 11% gain. Among German brands, Mercedes-Benz sold 23,635 passenger vehicles in April, up 5.8%; BMW BMW.XE +0.27%brand sales rose 10% to 23,225 and Volkswagen's VOW3.XE +1.25%Audi NSU.XE 0.00%brand rose 14% to 13,157. Volkswagen AG's namesake brand said sales declined 10%.

"Car-buying conditions are strong and will continue to release pent-up demand," said Kurt McNeil, GM's vice president of U.S. sales operations. He added: "the economy continues to move forward and important car and truck launches are just getting under way."

Ford said its April sales were aided by strong demand for its Fusion midsize sedan, F-150 pickup truck and Escape crossover models. Sales were particularly strong on the U.S. East and West Coasts, said Ken Czubay, Ford vice president, U.S. Marketing, Sales and Service.

GM shares initially climbed to $31.08, a new 52-week intraday high on Wednesday, as all four of its brands posted higher year-over-year sales before turning down amid a lackluster market. The largest U.S. auto maker said its sales to individual consumers were up 10% and sales to fleet operators, such as rental car companies, rose 16%.

Ford and Chrysler said it was their best April sales since 2007, before the recession of 2008-2009.

"Our sales last month were solid across the board with seven Chrysler Group vehicles recording their best April sales ever," said Chrysler's U.S. sales chief Reid Bigland.

Sales of Chrysler's Jeep Grand Cherokee were up 27%, its Ram pickup truck sales rose 49% and its Ram Cargo Van more than doubled, all from a year earlier.

—Christina Rogers and Melodie Warner contributed to this article.
Write to Mike Ramsey at michael.ramsey@wsj.com

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