The 'big 3' carmakers whiffed on auto sales in July (HMC, TM, F, GM, FCAU, NSANY, VOW)

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Throughout Tuesday, major automakers are reporting their US sales numbers for July.

So far, the so-called big three — Ford, Fiat Chrysler, and GM — have reported sales numbers below expectations. Ford and GM reported declines.

Joe LaVorgna, the chief US economist at Deutsche Bank, had said in a preview that, "If vehicle sales continue to moderate, it would provide early evidence that we have likely seen the peak in consumption growth for the cycle."

Car sales have been used to gauge the strength of consumer spending because cars are big-ticket items.

Economists had forecast that sales rose at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 17.30 million in July, up from 16.61 million in June, according to Bloomberg.

Auto sales rose to a record 17.5 million in 2015 as cheap gas, easy credit conditions, and a robust labor market encouraged spending on cars and trucks.

If the annual sales pace falls below the 17 million, it would look as if the pace has plateaued and could increase worries about the auto market.

Here's the latest scoreboard:

• Ford: -3% (-0.5% expected)
• GM: -1.9% (-1% expected)
• Nissan: 1.2% (3% expected)
• Fiat Chrysler: 0.3% (1.9% expected)
• Volkswagen of America: -8.12%
• Honda: +4.4% (-0.4% expected)
• Toyota: -1.4% (-2.9% expected)

More to come.

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