Several major automakers reported lower sales in the United States in September than in the previous year, as sales temporarily increased as car owners replaced vehicles destroyed by Hurricane Harvey.

Analysts at Edmunds had forecast an overall decline of 8.3%, while analysts at Cox Automotive predicted a 7.2% decline.

Despite this decline, the overall sales rate of the automotive sector remains high as thriving jobs and housing markets maintain the confidence of Americans in the purchase of expensive goods.

But all the news was not encouraging. Rising interest rates have dampened demand. And fear of tariffs may have hurt sales in September.

Some parts of the car market are in trouble. Sales of passenger cars continued to fall in September as buyers poured out around SUVs, crossover vehicles and pickup trucks. At the same time, sales of these large vehicles are a profitable trend for the industry.

Here's how the major builders behaved in September:

General Motors

Edmunds forecast: -15.4%

Cox Automotive forecast: -15.8%

Current results: GM no longer reports monthly sales.

The company reported sales of 694,638 vehicles in the third quarter, down 11.1% from a year earlier.

The Chevrolet, GMC, Cadillac and Buick brands fell by 11.4%, 11.3%, 10.7% and 7.3% respectively.

Ford engine

Edmunds forecast: -10 percent

Cox Automotive forecast: -10.7%

Current results: -11.2% (197,404 vehicles)

Ford's passenger car sales continued to fall in September, with the company focusing primarily on trucks, vans and SUVs.

Car sales fell 25.7%, SUVs 2.7% and trucks 9.9%.

The F-Series pickup truck, considered the most popular model in the United States, dropped 8.8 percent to 75,092.

Overall, the Ford brand reported an 11.3% decline in sales, while the Lincoln luxury line declined 7.2%.

Fiat Chrysler

Edmunds forecast6.7%

Cox Automotive forecast: 9 percent

Current results: 14.7% (199,819 vehicles)

Fiat Chrysler outclassed Ford for the month – a rare but not entirely unexpected event considering the ever-expanding Jeep brand.

The Jeep value increased by 14.1% to 83,764 vehicles.

The Dodge brand also recorded a major increase of 40.6%. Ram was up 9.2%, the Chrysler brand down 6.8%, the Fiat brand declined 46.3% and the Alfa Romeo brand rose 29.3%.

Toyota

Edmunds forecast: -7.9%

Cox Automotive forecast: -6 percent

Current results: -10.4% (203,098 vehicles)

The Toyota brand lost 10.9%, while the Lexus luxury brand was down 6.1%.

Car sales declined 25.2%, while truck, SUV and crossover sales increased 1.1%.

Honda

Edmunds forecast: -3.9 percent

Cox Automotive forecast: -1.9%

Current results: Not yet available

Nissan

Edmunds forecast: -19.7%

Cox Automotive forecast: -25%

Current results: -12.2% (122,819 vehicles)

The Japanese manufacturer outperformed the expectations for the month but was still down sharply. The company's sales of SUVs, crossover vehicles and pickup trucks increased 6.6%.

But Nissan's passenger car sales dropped 35.7%.

Hyundai-Kia

Edmunds forecast: -7.6%

Cox Automotive forecast-4.1 percent

Current results: Not yet available

Subaru

Edmunds forecast: (not provided)

Cox Automotive forecast12.5 percent

Current results: Not yet available

Volkswagen Group

Edmunds forecast: -3.3% (VW and Audi brands)

Cox Automotive forecast: 0,9% (VW, Audi and Porsche brands)

Current results: Not yet available

Follow USA TODAY reporter Nathan Bomey on Twitter @NathanBomey.

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