plus 4, U.S. sales, aided by General Motors, show some real spark in October - Autoweek.com

U.S. sales, aided by General Motors, show some real spark in October - Autoweek.com
ADP posts higher 1Q profit despite revenue decline - NewOrleans.Com
Auto Sales Rebound in October - Briefing.com
Economy's problems show in ADP's 1st-qtr report, but company manages 3 ... - San Francisco Examiner
Crown Equipment Debuts New Internal Combustion Forklift - YAHOO!

U.S. sales, aided by General Motors, show some real spark in October - Autoweek.com

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 08:08 AM PST

U.S. light-vehicle sales--bolstered by General Motor Co.'s first gain in 21 months--declined less than 1 percent in October as the industry showed signs of a recovery without the aid of government incentives.

The drop was the smallest this year and made October the year's strongest month aside from August, which received a lift from the federal cash-for-clunkers program. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate was 11.2 million. The rate had not risen above 9.9 million this year without clunkers help.

"Numbers in that range certainly are not, by historic standards, good numbers. But thinking of where we've come from, it's certainly a positive signal," said Jeff Schuster, executive director of global forecasting at the market research firm J.D. Power and Associates. "We're through the worst, and we're beginning the slow trek to recovery."

Gains from most of the biggest automakers propelled sales to within 216 units of October 2008's total.

GM's U.S. sales rose 5 percent last month--the automaker's first advance since January 2008. Ford Motor Co. grew 3 percent.

Among Asian automakers, Nissan North America climbed 6 percent, Toyota Motor Sales gained less than 1 percent and Hyundai-Kia soared 47 percent. Subaru, Daimler AG, Volkswagen Group and Porsche all were up.

Chrysler Group, meanwhile, plunged 30 percent as it continued to struggle after its bankruptcy. Mazda and American Honda also declined. Suzuki fell 50 percent, while BMW Group trailed year-earlier sales by 19 percent.

The results show automakers benefiting from year-earlier comparisons, after the collapse of Lehman Brothers last October sent the U.S. economy into a deeper tailspin. Industry sales fell 32 percent in October 2008, dragging the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate below 11 million for the first time since 1983.

Industrywide sales remained stuck at 27-year lows this year until the federal government's clunkers incentive pushed demand to rates of 11.1 million units in July and 13.7 million in August. Without the clunkers benefit, September's sales rate dropped to 9.5 million units.

Ford's report of a year-over-year sales gain, its third in the past four months, came a day after the automaker posted a surprise $997 million net profit in the third quarter and its first operating profit in North America since the beginning of 2005.

Sales of the freshly redesigned Ford Taurus sedan more than doubled, while deliveries of the car to individual customers almost tripled from year-earlier levels.

Other automakers

Subaru gained 41 percent in October. Its sales have now risen 13 percent from 2008 levels--the biggest increase among the few companies that have advanced this year.

Hyundai-Kia is also up for the year, reporting a 5 percent increase.

Volkswagen's results included a 1 percent slip from its Audi brand compared with a year earlier, when the brand set a record for October sales. Audi's Q5 crossover, introduced in February, sold 1,238 units last month or 17 percent of the brand's total.

Last month's GM gain compares with October 2008, when demand fell 45 percent, the most among the top six automakers.

"We're not going to declare victory here today, but we're making progress," said Susan Docherty, GM's vice president of U.S. sales, on a call with journalists and analysts.

Despite the sales gain and a 0.9 percent year-over-year increase in market share, GM said it had decreased its fourth-quarter North American production forecast by 35,000 units to 620,000. That's 24 percent fewer than the automaker built last year.

The reduction mostly accounts for the loss of Saturn production, said Mike DiGiovanni, GM's executive director of global market and industry analysis. GM had not adjusted its forecast after Penske Automotive Group Inc. in September backed out of its deal to buy the Saturn brand and initially fill it with vehicles GM produced.

GM's "truck month" incentives helped push the company's light-truck sales up 18 percent. Because of its success, Docherty said, GM is extending the program through Jan. 4.

Chrysler's 30 percent decline comes on the heels of a 35 percent drop the previous October. The Dodge Avenger sedan and Caravan minivan were Chrysler's only vehicles to post year-over-year sales increases.

Bottomed out

October's sales indicate that the industry probably bottomed out in the second quarter, said Standard & Poor's equity analyst Efraim Levy.

"Going forward, we should see a fairly steady increase in demand," he said. "How fast, no one knows, but the trend is there."

Higher sales will mean higher production, Levy said.

"That helps companies all over the industry," he said. "Whether you're an automaker, auto supplier or auto retailer, it's good for you."

The U.S. annual sales rate had averaged 10.2 million units through September, down from 13.2 million last year and 16.2 million in 2007.

Jamie LaReau and Jesse Snyder contributed to this report

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ADP posts higher 1Q profit despite revenue decline - NewOrleans.Com

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 07:03 AM PST

Written by Associated Press Wednesday, 04 November 2009 02:47

Business News AP

ROSELAND, N.J. (AP) - Rising unemployment and the struggles of the U.S. auto industry were both evident as payroll and benefits outsourcer Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported a slim 3 percent profit rise in its first quarter. Cost controls offset lower revenue.

The company attributed the revenue decline to the recession, along with unfavorable foreign exchange rates, which ADP said shaved 2 percentage points from the total.

"The actions taken in last year's fourth quarter to reduce our expense structure benefited the current quarter's results," said President and CEO Gary C. Butler. ADP reduced expenses 5 percent from the year-ago quarter to $1.69 billion.

ADP also boosted its guidance for the full fiscal year.

For the three months ended Sept. 30, net income rose to $284.1 million, or 56 cents per share, from $276.9 million, or 54 cents per share, in the year-ago period. There were 2 percent fewer shares outstanding in the most recent period.

Revenue dipped 4 percent to $2.1 billion from $2.18 billion last year.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, on average, expected profit of 50 cents per share, on revenue of $2.05 billion.

The company's largest unit, employer services, which provides payroll processing, saw a 3 percent drop in revenue to $1.49 billion.

ADP said the number of employees on its client's payrolls dropped 6.5 percent, and revenue from its traditional payroll and payroll tax filing business fell 7 percent.

PEO services, its personnel services division, reported a 6 percent revenue increase to $296.2 million.

Revenue dropped 4 percent to $313.5 million for the dealer services unit, which provides information technology services to auto, truck and other vehicle dealers. The decrease was attributed to continued dealership closings and consolidations, but was not as big as expected, ADP said, because of higher transaction volume in August. The company attributed the volume bump to the popular Cash for Clunkers program, noting it did not continue through September.

It now expects revenue to fall 1 to 2 percent from fiscal 2009, versus a prior projection of a decline up to 4 percent. Based on last year's total of $8.87 billion, the new forecast implies revenue of $8.69 billion to $8.78 billion.

Wall Street forecast revenue of $8.72 billion for the fiscal year, with estimates ranging from $8.56 billion to $8.93 billion.

The company now expects profit between $2.34 and $2.39 per share, compared with $2.39 last year and a prior range of $2.29 to $2.39.

Analysts, on average, expect earnings of $2.35 per share, with estimates ranging from $2.29 to $2.39.

ADP shares rose 23 cents to $40.88 in morning trading Wednesday. The stock has traded between $31.67 and $41.27 in the past 52 weeks.

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Auto Sales Rebound in October - Briefing.com

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 07:03 AM PST

Auto Sales Rebound in October

Auto sales unexpectedly surged in October as sales grew to 10.45 million from 9.20 million vehicles in September. It was the first time since December 2008 that auto sales increased above the 10 million mark without help from government stimulus.

Domestic vehicles sales jumped 1.14 million vehicles to 7.94 million vehicles in October as domestic car sales climbed to 3.70 million from 3.30 million and domestic light truck sales increased from 3.5 million to 4.64 million. October saw the highest amount of total domestic vehicle sales, excluding July and August, since September 2008.

Auto manufacturers have been pointing to a rebound in October for the past few months, but most analysts dismissed these thoughts a pure marketing hype. It was originally thought that Cash for Clunkers lured many of the potential buyers into dealers and the stimulus incentives took away sales that would have normally occurred between September and the end of the year.

The economic fundamentals (i.e., high unemployment and lower income flows) should have acted a deterrent to increased sales, but consumers seem to believe the economy is getting better and have discounted potential future economic troubles.

The increase in auto sales bodes well for other consumer durables as the reasons why consumers purchase a new car, strangely enough, often translate into why consumers purchase appliances and other expensive goods.

The growth in sales was not universal by manufacturer and the data tends to be skewed due to very poor comparables from October 2008. General Motors was the big winner as sales increased 5% year-over-year, the first increase in year-over-year sales since January 2008. Ford also saw big returns as sales increased 3% year-over-year.

The biggest loser was Chrysler Group. Sales fell 30% year-over-year and are down 39% year-to-date. Consumers are worried about the direction of the company and have been holding off on purchasing new cars until they get a better understanding of who is going to be in charge.

The Japanese auto dealers had a tough month. Toyota and Honda posted no year-over-year gains. Nissan saw sales increase a healthy 6% and Mazda noticed a decline in sales by 8%.

Hyundai was the only major car manufacturer to post positive year-to-date gains in sales compared to 2008. Sales have risen 5%.

General Motors released a statement saying that the increase in motor vehicle sales may not lead to a greatly increased production schedule. As GM winds down Saturn and Pontiac, GM will not replace these sales with increased production in other brands.

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Economy's problems show in ADP's 1st-qtr report, but company manages 3 ... - San Francisco Examiner

Posted: 04 Nov 2009 06:49 AM PST

ROSELAND, N.J. — Rising unemployment and the struggles of the U.S. auto industry were both evident as payroll and benefits outsourcer Automatic Data Processing Inc. reported a slim 3 percent profit rise in its first quarter. Cost controls offset lower revenue.