Although Ford Motor Co. posted a net loss of $380 million for the third quarter, revenue for the period grew to $41.1 billion, an improvement from the figure of $37.1 billion a year ago.

The company's net loss for the third quarter in 2006 was $5.2 billion, so the 2007 figure is actually cause for some celebration at the troubled American automaker.

The company released a statement with the figures early on November 8 which read, in part, "The increase primarily reflected net pricing, changes in currency exchange rates, and improved product mix."

Before taxes, the company's losses world wide in the automotive sector were $362 million, which compares favorably with $1.9 billion for the same reporting period in 2006.

The auto business for Ford in North America yielded a loss before taxes of $1 billion, a definite improvement from the 2006 figure of $2.1 billion. Revenue in North America climbed to $16.5 billion from $15.4 billion.

Alan Mulally, Ford CEO, in the statement said, "Our third quarter performance is very encouraging. We can see our plan taking hold with significant improvement continuing in our core automotive operations.

"We remain committed to executing the four priorities of our plan - restructuring the business to operate profitably, accelerating the development of new products that our customers want and value, funding our plan and improving our balance sheet, and working even more effectively together as one Ford team, leveraging our global assets."