North America Light-Vehicle Production Sets October Record

North American light-vehicle production reached 1,599,820 units last month, 1.5% above like-2013. The result is a record high for October and the fifth-highest monthly output in WardsAuto history.

Several manufacturers posted best-ever numbers, including Nissan, Honda, Subaru and BMW.

Nissan continued to see significant growth from last year, posting a 17.4% jump for the month and a 19.5% gain over the 10-month period. Year-to-date, each plant had a small drop in production, except Smyrna, TN, which shot up 37.6%.

Subaru’s October number soared 33.7% to 34,360 units, surpassing 30,000 for the first time.

Honda built 178,612 vehicles in October, 3.2% above last year. Year-to-date, the automaker is up only 0.8%, however.

For the second month in a row, Ford showed the greatest year-over-year drop of any automaker, falling 13.0%. The retooling shutdown at its Dearborn, MI, plant had a significant impact on the monthly total. However, even with the plant returning to full production in November, the automaker will not finish this year above last. WardsAuto forecasts Ford’s 2014 production will fall below 3 million units and slip about 4% below the 3.1 million built in 2013.

Light-vehicle production by the Detroit Three decreased 5.2%, totaling 829,327 in October, according to WardsAuto estimates. General Motors’ output was down 6.9%, but Chrysler’s builds rose 5.5% from last year.

Car production fell 0.6% from 2013 to 679,018 units. Light-truck output reached 920,802, a best-ever result for October and third-best of any month.

Output from Mexican plants hit an all-time high of 327,429 vehicles. The figure is 15.9% above same-month 2013.

U.S. plants saw a 0.8% drop for the month, but still were up 5.2% year-to-date. Canadian production was down 5.3%, the seventh year-over-year decline this year.

North American LV production through October was 14,335,811 units, up 4.9% from year-ago.

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