Recent Updates
- **EIA releases, including WPSR, are delayed by the source**
- US: New Residential Sales (May)
- Canada: Payroll Employment, Earnings, & Hours (Apr)
- Italy: Non-EU International Trade (May)
- Mexico: Economic Activity (Apr), Construction (Apr)
- more updates...
Economy in Brief
Italian Consumer Confidence Remains Hammered Down
Italy's consumer confidence fell month-to-month...
U.S. Current Account Deficit Deepens to Record in Q1'22
The U.S. current account deficit deepened to $291.4 billion during Q1'22...
Kansas City Fed Manufacturing Index Declines Further in June But Remains Positive
The Kansas City Fed reported that its manufacturing sector business activity index fell to 12 in June...
U.S. Unemployment Claims Edged Down
Initial claims for unemployment insurance filed in the week ended June 18 declined by 2,000 to 229,000...
U.S. Energy Prices Reverse Earlier Gains
Retail gasoline prices surged to $5.01 per gallon (63.1% y/y)...
Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller May 1, 2020
• Vehicle sales declined 49.6% in last two months.
• Car & light truck sales each suffer large losses.
Would-be motor vehicle buyers avoided dealer showrooms in April for a second straight month due to higher unemployment, fear of the coronavirus and stay-at-home orders. The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles declined last month by 24.1% m/m (-47.9% y/y) to 8.60 million (SAAR) from 11.33 million in March. It was a record low level of sales for the series which dates back to 1980. Sales have been easing since the 2016 peak of 17.55 million units.
Sales of light trucks were off 21.5% (-43.8% y/y) to 6.59 million units. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks fell 23.3% (-42.9% y/y) to 5.23 million units. Sales of imported light trucks weakened 14.6% (-47.1% y/y) to 1.35 million units.
Trucks' share of the U.S. light vehicle market reached a record 76.6%, up from a low of 48.8% during all of 2012.
Auto sales weakened 31.4% (-58.1% y/y) to 2.01 million units and remained below a peak level of 7.71 million unit sales reached in 2014. Purchases of domestically-produced cars fell 31.5% (-58.4% y/y) to 1.48 million units. Sales of imported cars weakened 32.1% (-57.3% y/y) to 0.53 million units.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market rose last month to 21.9%. Imports' share of the passenger car market eased to 26.4%. Imports share of the light truck market improved to 20.5% and remained up from the 12.0% low in January 2015.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
Light Weight Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Million Units) | Apr | Mar | Feb | Apr Y/Y % | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 8.60 | 11.33 | 17.05 | -47.9 | 16.99 | 17.27 | 17.23 |
Autos | 2.01 | 2.93 | 4.49 | -58.1 | 4.80 | 5.36 | 6.16 |
Domestic | 1.48 | 2.16 | 3.22 | -58.4 | 3.52 | 4.00 | 4.58 |
Imported | 0.53 | 0.78 | 1.27 | -57.3 | 1.28 | 1.36 | 1.59 |
Light Trucks | 6.59 | 8.40 | 12.56 | -43.8 | 12.18 | 11.92 | 11.07 |
Domestic | 5.23 | 6.82 | 9.92 | -42.9 | 9.65 | 9.44 | 9.00 |
Imported | 1.35 | 1.58 | 2.64 | -47.1 | 2.53 | 2.48 | 2.07 |