Business

Big 3 roar, US keeps on truckin’

Riding renewed demand for pickups, Detroit roared to its best August since 2008, with robust double-digit sales jumps that wowed Wall Street.

General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, the biggest makers of full-size trucks, yesterday reported numbers that blew past estimates. No. 1 automaker GM jumped 10 percent — about double analysts’ forecasts — while Ford sales rose 13 percent and Chrysler grew 14 percent from a year earlier.

The strong August pushed the annual sales rate to 14.6 million vehicles, up from 14.3 million.

Pickups led showroom deals. Ford’s F-Series, the nation’s best- selling vehicle, and Chrysler’s Ram trucks each climbed 19 percent, with GM’s trucks holding at a steady 6 percent gain.

“A lot of tradespeople had waited on the sidelines for a few years to replace their pickups with improved models that have more power and use less gas,” said auto analyst Kristen Anderssen of True Car.com.

Strong truck sales are also seen as an indication that workers in construction and other trades who need to haul crews and equipment are expecting more business.

“Vehicle loans were at zero percent and deals were great, so it made good business sense for a trades person to upgrade his public image with a shiny new pickup,” Anderssen said. “It impress customers, and shows that the person is successful and his work is in demand.”