GM and Ford truck past economic road blocks

The latest earnings from Detroit automakers make one thing clear: nothing can come between Americans and their trucks. For years, General Motors GM.N and Ford Motor F.N have managed to keep selling expensive gas-guzzlers, all the while dodging tariffs, sour consumer sentiment and rising fuel costs. The growing number of obstacles, though, raises the risks of a spin-out.

Ford has had a particularly rough ride of late, still grappling with the consequences of a fire at crucial aluminum supplier Novelis. On Tuesday, it reported that overall revenue fell 4% year-over-year to $48.3 billion. Nonetheless, the maker of the quintessentially American F-150 truck managed to increase its operating profit by $400 million, thanks partly to continued pricing power. Combined with lower costs, boss Jim Farley announced that the company now expects up to $11 billion of such profit for the full year, up from $10.5 billion previously.