Ford’s October sales fall as F-150 factory retooling takes toll

Ford’s U.S. sales fell 6.1% in October, dragged down in part by a factory overhaul to produce the redesigned version of its top-selling F-150 pickup.

The decline compared with an industrywide gain of 1%, according to figures cited in a report issued Wednesday by Credit Suisse, as the U.S. market continues to rebound from the springtime closure of factories. Ford sold 181,820 vehicles last month when heavy trucks are excluded, down from 193,571 a year earlier, it said in a securities filing.

Ford stopped publicly reporting U.S. monthly sales in 2018 a few months after rival General Motors Co. switched to quarterly reporting. Since then, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and much of the rest of the industry has followed suit.