Ford Motor Co., insisting it can survive without federal loans, said it burned $5.5 billion in cash in the fourth quarter and will tap a revolving credit line after the worst annual performance in its 105-year history.

The second-biggest U.S. automaker also pared first-quarter North American output and won concessions from the United Auto Workers. While Ford pruned its projection for 2009 domestic industrywide sales to as few as 11.5 million vehicles, that figure is about 1 million more than other estimates.

Ford posted a quarterly net loss of $5.9 billion, or $2.46 a share. Excluding costs Ford considers one-time expenses, the loss was $1.37 a share; the average of 11 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg was $1.24.

The results dragged Ford to a full-year loss of $14.6 billion, eclipsing 2006’s record of $12.6 billion. Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally reiterated Ford’s aim to avoid federal borrowing even as cash in its automotive business fell to $13.4 billion.

Ford won’t say how much cash it needs to stay in business. General Motors Corp., the largest U.S. automaker, has said it needs at least $11 billion to pay bills, while No. 3 Chrysler LLC has put its threshold at $2 billion to $2.5 billion. Both said they would have been out of operating funds as soon as this month without the emergency aid approved in December.

(Bloomberg.com)