Fiat Chrysler's 64-month sales streak may be ending

Southfield, Michigan

CHRYSLER exited bankruptcy in 2009 with a new leader and a sales momentum that hasn't let up for more than five years. That streak may end this month because of a calendar quirk that pushes Labor Day weekend and all the sales that come with it into September.

It will be close. FCA US, half of what's now Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV, has increased sales compared with a year earlier for 64 straight months. But it may show a sales decline of 1.2 per cent for August, the average of eight analyst estimates in a Bloomberg survey. The prognosticators are divided, with three predicting a sales gain compared with August 2014, which included the holiday weekend.