FORD Motor Co's sales are faring well this month, at least through the first two weeks of the month, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr said on Tuesday.

Ford, speaking to reporters in Dearborn at an event to preview new models, said a lot will depend on the last week of the month, traditionally the biggest sales week in December because people are off work for the holidays.

'December for us is turning out relatively well,' Ford said. 'So far it doesn't look so bad.'

Ford sales slid 31 percent last month when compared with the same month last year, and they're off almost 20 percent for the first 11 months of the year.

The entire United States auto industry is down 16 percent for the year.

Ford says if General Motors Corp and Chrysler LLC get the loans from Washington that they have requested to stay in business, it would help Ford by stabilizing parts supply companies.

So far, suppliers have yet to demand payments from Ford, said CEO Alan Mulally. Last week, Chrysler said some of its suppliers threatened to stop shipping to the cash-strapped auto makers.

'We have very positive relationships with our suppliers, these are long-term relationships. It's not like you'd put pressure on each other,' Mulally said in a separate interview on Tuesday. 'It might be the fact that we are in a different place, it gives a lot of confidence that we're going to be OK.'

The Bush administration is considering loans from the US$700 billion Wall Street bailout fund or from the Federal Reserve for GM and Chrysler. Ford says it has enough money to make it through next year.