DETROIT – Ford Motor’s June and second quarter gross sales had been beneath analyst expectations as a worldwide scarcity of semiconductor chips triggered significant production cuts and stock constraints.

Ford bought 475,327 automobiles throughout the second quarter, a 9.6% improve from a 12 months earlier when the coronavirus pandemic triggered People to shelter in place and quickly closed auto dealerships. Edmunds anticipated Ford’s gross sales to extend by 10.5%, whereas Cox Automotive forecast a rise of 20.5%.

For June, the automaker mentioned Friday that its gross sales declined by 26.9%, together with a roughly 30% drop in its F-Sequence pickups.

The corporate mentioned reservations for its electric F-150 Lightning pickup that is due out subsequent 12 months have topped 100,000 since its debut in Might.

Ford’s gross sales observe GM and different automakers reporting vital will increase in second quarter gross sales however at a slower pace through the quarter resulting from low car inventories brought on by the chip scarcity.

“The quarter began off extraordinarily sturdy, April broke a number of gross sales information so far as over 18 million, after which we noticed that stock proceed to dwindle,” mentioned Jessica Caldwell, govt director of insights at Edmunds. “Shopper demand continues to be very sturdy, however the stock is considerably missing.”

June’s promoting price was about 15.5 million automobiles, in accordance with analysts. Forecasts for the promoting price had been between 15.7 million and 16.4 million, down from 17.1 million automobiles in Might and 18.6 million automobiles in April.

The gross sales tempo for any given month measures what number of automobiles the trade would promote for the 12 months if it bought the identical quantity each month. It is a important barometer of the trade’s well being and client demand.

The chip scarcity is inflicting a shake-up in America’s automotive ranks. For the second quarter, Toyota Motor was the best-selling automaker within the U.S., ousting General Motors.