General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. will probably say December U.S. auto sales fell as consumers reined in spending, ending a year with the lowest demand for cars and trucks in a decade.
Deliveries dropped about 5.6 percent at GM, 7.8 percent at Ford and 7.9 percent at Chrysler LLC, based on the average estimates of six analysts in a Bloomberg survey before tomorrow's reports. Smaller declines at Japanese rivals such as Toyota Motor Corp., which bumped Ford from the No. 2 spot at midyear, may help them gain market share over Detroit's money-losing trio.
Americans bought about 16.1 million cars and trucks for the year, the least since 1998, with year-end gasoline prices exceeding $3 a gallon for the first time and consumer confidence at a two-year low. Housing starts, one barometer for sales of profitable pickup trucks, are in the deepest slump in 16 years.
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