North American Auto Makers Trim Q3 Production

Only a month after boosting July-September North American output plans by 9,700 units, third-quarter North American car and truck production is headed 18,100 units lower to 3,759,000 units, but still output paces year-ago’s 3,277,000 completions by 14.7%.

The reduction results from industry adjustments that saw 56,200 builds pulled forward into June, more than offsetting the 50,100 that were pared from production rosters in July, while August and September slates increased by 14,100 and 17,900 units, respectively.

The net result of these machinations is 11,600 fewer cars slated for completion in July-September after June production ended 13,100 units ahead of estimates. In addition, some 30,800 cars were pulled from the July roster only to be reassigned to August and September at 16,900 and 13,900 units, respectively.

Truck production also will see some juggling. Final June truck finsihed a whopping 43,100 units above plan when several manufacturers made mid-month schedule adjustments.

The most recent Q3 truck plans include an estimated 7,700-unit shortfall in July and a 2,800-unit cut in August, followed by a 4,000-unit increase in September for a net 6,500-unit loss.

Despite the cuts, total industry production for January-September, at 11,908,400 units, is running close to 2.0 million vehicles, or 19.9%, ahead of prior-year’s 9,932,200.

Much of the gain is due to the dearth of Japanese-brand production year-ago following 2011’s natural disasters that halted the flow of critical parts to the U.S. for several months.

The Detroit Three auto makers account for 52.6% of output in the first nine months of 2012, down from year-ago’s 58.1%. Transplants represent a 45.0% share, compared with 39.5%. Dedicated medium- and heavy-duty truck makers are responsible for the remaining 2.4% of production for both timeframes.

[email protected]