Tire Recall Expected to Hurt Vehicle Sales

U.S. new-vehicle sales are forecast to fall about 0.9% this month as Bridgestone/Firestone Inc.’s recall of 6.5 million tires is expected to hurt sales of light trucks at Ford Motor Co., its biggest customer, according to an analysis released Tuesday.

Also Tuesday, Bridgestone/Firestone, under pressure to speed the pace of its recall, said it will begin airlifting tires from Japan today from its parent firm, Bridgestone Corp.

Bridgestone/Firestone said that the first new replacement tires will leave on a Thai Airways flight and that at least 10 more flights are planned through Sunday. The shipments will continue nearly every day as long as needed for the tire recall, the second-largest in U.S. history.

The tire maker’s efforts follow Ford’s announcement Monday that it will idle production at three truck plants for two weeks to remove the new tires from 25,000 sport-utility vehicles and pickup trucks to use as replacements in the recall effort.

Luckey Consulting Group projects that the lost production and slower sales resulting from publicity over the recall could crimp Ford’s sales of North American-built light vehicles by 9.5% from the year-earlier period, the No. 2 auto maker’s best August ever.

Sales at No. 1 General Motors may fall 3.8%, according to the forecasts by Luckey Consulting Group.

The declines at GM and Ford come amid discount-driven gains at rivals. Sales are forecast to rise 1.5% at DaimlerChrysler’s Chrysler unit, its first monthly sales gain since May, while Asian and European auto makers are expected to continue gaining sales and market share.

U.S. sales of cars and light trucks would have been little changed from August 1999--at the time, the best month since 1986--if it weren’t for the recall’s effects on Ford, Luckey’s analysts said. Discounts and a strong economy have kept 2000 moving toward matching last year’s record 16.96 million vehicles sold.

“It’s a wash compared to last August--and that’s not a bad thing, because August 1999 was terrific,” said Frank Ursomarso, a Wilmington, Del., dealer who owns Ford, Pontiac-GMC, BMW and Honda franchises.

Most auto analysts will issue their sales forecasts next week, before major auto makers report August sales Sept. 1.

Bridgestone’s Nashville-based U.S. unit recalled 6.5 million 15-inch Firestone tires this month as federal traffic safety officials investigate reports linking tread separations to accidents that have killed at least 54 people and injured 100 since 1992. Most of the accidents involved Ford light trucks, in particular its best-selling Explorer.

Ford said Monday that Explorer sales are running 3% below the company’s forecast for the month.