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Sales of Chrysler LLC vehicles in the U.S. are tracking broader industry declines through early May, according to an early look at new data.

The mid-month survey by J.D. Power and Associates suggests the auto maker is not being punished by buyers following its April 30 bankruptcy filing and subsequent restructuring efforts.

General Motors Corp. (GM) sales declined slightly more than the industry average, according to the data, due to be released Thursday. Ford Motor Co. (F) had the strongest showing among the major manufacturers.

J.D. Power does not disclose numbers in its updates, just trends, but predicts May U.S. industry sales will come in at a seasonally-adjusted selling rate of 9.3 million, the same as in April.

Jeff Schuster, its executive director of global forecasting, said that while the market shows no signs of a rebound, the dramatic declines that began in 2007 appear to be leveling off.

Chrysler's performance mirrors anecdotal evidence from executives and dealers, and follows a period when it has underperformed the industry. It suffered a 48.1% fall in U.S. light vehicle sales in April, compared with the 34.4% industry decline.

GM had outperformed the sector in April with a 33.1% fall year-on-year.

Bargain-hunting is likely driving traffic to Chrysler showrooms as consumers seek discounts from dealerships going out of business as part of the auto maker's plan to eliminate about one-quarter of its sales outlets.

"You can take away from this that people have not stayed away from showrooms," said Schuster, executive director of global forecasting. "What keeps people away more than anything is just the uncertainty."

Schuster said that while consumers may be shopping for deals, Chrysler's average discounts aren't off the charts. "They may not be getting the deals they expected," he said.

Showroom traffic appeared to increase in Chrysler dealerships since the bankruptcy filing, J.P. Morgan analyst Himanshu Patel wrote in a research note. However, he said, many dealers reported getting lowball offers from deal seekers.

"We sense discontinued dealers are strongly incentivized to deal while they still receive full manufacturer support," Patel wrote. "Also, consumers are likely finding good deals on aged inventory which cannot be resold to continuing Chrysler dealers who are looking to clear out their own late-model vehicles."

-By Sharon Terlep, Dow Jones Newswires; 248-204-5532; sharon.terlep@dowjones.com.