U.S. Auto Sales Plunge in January

U.S. auto sales plunged in January, with all of the Big Three automakers’ sales down at least 40%, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

Ford Motor Co.’s sales fell 40% from a year ago, General Motors Corp.’s fell 49% and Chrysler LLC’s plunged 55%, the Journal said in a front-page story.

The declines were greater than economists had forecast and automakers said fleet purchasers such as car rental companies were buying fewer vehicles, the paper said.

The sales translated to a seasonally adjusted annualized rate of 9.8 million vehicles, the slowest since 1982, the Journal said.

Separately, GM was considering selling its medium-duty truck plant in Flint, Mich., to Isuzu Motors, the Associated Press reported.