Sector Snap: Auto suppliers shares fall on GM cuts

GM said it plans to lower its annual truck production capacity by 300,000 units, 150,000 more than it announced in June. The Detroit-based automaker also will lay off salaried workers, suspend its dividend and borrow between $2 billion and $3 billion.

GM said the moves will raise $15 billion to help cover losses and turn around its North American operations.

But lower production at the U.S.-based automakers generally translates to lower sales and profits at the companies that supply them.

American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings Inc., which derives the bulk of its sales from light truck production at the Detroit-based auto makers, posted some of the day's largest losses.

In midday trading, American Axle shares were down 18 cents, or 3 percent, to $5.83, after tumbling as low as $5.33 earlier in the day. The stock's previous year low of $5.83 was set on Monday.

Shares of Detroit-based American Axle are down about 68 percent since the beginning of this year and about 80 percent in the last 12 months.

Among the other auto suppliers, Tenneco Inc. dropped 64 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $12.58. They earlier traded as low as $11.47, below a previous 52-week low of $12.35.

Visteon Corp. recently traded down a penny at $2.17, but earlier traded as low as $1.93. It was first time that Visteon's shares have fallen below the $2 mark since the company was spun off from Ford Motor Co. in 2000.

ArvinMeritor Inc. recently traded down 43 cents, or 4 percent, to $10.35 after dropping as low as $9.99. Over the past 52 weeks, the company's shares have traded between $9.08 and $23.65.