DETROIT (Reuters) — Toyota Motor Corp. posted a rise in January US auto sales yesterday, claiming the No. 2 spot in the world’s largest market for cars and trucks, as sales by rival Ford Motor Co fell sharply.Top carmaker General Motors Corp. , meanwhile, posted a sales decline at the low end of analysts’ expectations and trimmed its first-quarter production plans in response.

The shifting fortunes of Toyota and its largest American rivals had been widely expected, given Toyota’s momentum with a line-up of fuel-efficient cars and the sweeping restructuring efforts underway at Ford and GM.

It was not the first month that Toyota had surpassed Ford but gave the Japanese automaker a lead in a year in which many analysts expect it will top Ford in annual US sales and overtake GM on a global basis.

Toyota’s US sales rose by 9.5 percent in January before adjusting for the number of selling days in the month. On the same basis, Ford’s sales dropped by 19 percent.

GM, which remains the industry sales leader, posted a 16.4 percent sales decline on an unadjusted basis, or 20 percent on an adjusted basis.

Other major automakers reported sales gains for January. DaimlerChrysler AG’s US sales were up 3 percent on an unadjusted basis, including a 1 percent gain for Chrysler Group.