GM’s Sales Down, Ford’s Up in September

General Motors Corp. said its car and truck sales fell in September as it tried to recover from the summer’s prolonged strikes, while Ford Motor Co. reported higher sales for the month. GM, the world’s largest auto maker, said sales of cars and light trucks fell 3.2% last month, to 391,118 units from 404,133 in September 1997. Total vehicle sales, including heavy trucks, fell 3.1%. Ford, the No. 2 U.S. auto maker, said car and light-truck sales rose 4.9%, to 324,456 units last month from 309,379 a year earlier. Ford’s total sales rose 4.1%. Ford said it is boosting fourth-quarter production by 20,000 vehicles to meet demand. Despite GM’s decline, total U.S. auto industry sales rose 6% to 1,282,345 last month, up from 1,209,541. GM shares fell $1.25 to close at $53.75; Ford fell $3.38 to $39.75. Both trade on the New York Stock Exchange.