Analysts expected it, Ford hinted that it was coming (earlier post), but the actual size of the drop in sales in August 2004 from August 2003 has to hurt: 13%. This bumps the decrease in 2004 year-to-date sales to 4.6%. One bright spot for the company was a 15% increase in sales of the F-Series pickups.

In response, Ford is cutting its fourth-quarter production 8% below last year’s level to 830,000 units from 900,000. The cut is deeper on the truck lines than the car lines, reflecting both sales expectations and inventory in dealer lots.

As you can see in the chart to the right, the car-truck balance continues to shift toward trucks. (Click image to enlarge.) In August, car sales constituted only 27% of total Ford vehicle sales, down from 32% in August 2003.

More to come on this.