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U.S. Income Gained, Spending Slowed in May
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Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller February 2, 2021
• Sales of light trucks lead the improvement.
• Domestic passenger car sales falter.
• Imports' share of vehicle market improves.
Light vehicle sales improved last month. The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles rose 2.6% during January (-1.3% y/y) to 16.83 million units (SAAR) and added to December's 3.1% rise to 16.41 million units. It was the highest level of sales since February of last year.
Sales of light trucks increased 3.0% (3.3% y/y) during January to a record 12.95 million units. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks increased 2.6% (2.0% y/y) to 10.16 million units following a 7.4% December gain. Adding to this rise, sales of imported light trucks rose 4.5% (8.6% y/y) to a record 2.79 million units after falling 2.9% during December. Imported trucks 21.5% share of the U.S. light truck market was increased from a low of 14.7% during all of 2014.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market improved to 76.9%, but still was below the 77.5% peak during May of last year.
Auto sales rose 1.0% (-14.2% y/y) last month to 3.88 million units, but they remained below the 2014 peak of 7.71 million units. Purchases of domestically-produced cars fell 1.9% (-19.9% y/y) to 2.65 million units after declining 4.6% in December. Offsetting this decline, sales of imported autos strengthened 7.9% (1.7% y/y) to 1.23 million, the highest level since February.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market edged higher last month to 23.9%. That placed them up from 22.2% in January 2020 and a low of 19.9% during all of 2015. Imports' share of the passenger car market strengthened to 31.7% in January, the highest level since June. Imports' share of the light truck market was little-changed m/m at 21.5%. It has been trending upward from 14.7% in 2014.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
An Overview of the Economic Outlook: 2021 to 2031 from the Congressional Budget Office can be found here.
Light Weight Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Million Units) | Jan | Dec | Nov | Jan Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 16.83 | 16.41 | 15.91 | -1.3 | 14.55 | 17.06 | 17.32 |
Autos | 3.88 | 3.84 | 3.93 | -14.2 | 3.54 | 4.82 | 5.40 |
Domestic | 2.65 | 2.70 | 2.83 | -19.9 | 2.53 | 3.53 | 4.05 |
Imported | 1.23 | 1.14 | 1.10 | 1.7 | 1.01 | 1.29 | 1.36 |
Light Trucks | 12.95 | 12.57 | 11.98 | 3.3 | 11.01 | 12.24 | 11.92 |
Domestic | 10.16 | 9.90 | 9.22 | 2.0 | 8.62 | 9.70 | 9.44 |
Imported | 2.79 | 2.67 | 2.75 | 8.6 | 2.39 | 2.54 | 2.48 |