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Viewpoints
Commentaries are the opinions of the author and do not reflect the views of Haver Analytics.
by Tom Moeller March 2, 2021
• Sales of cars & light trucks ease.
• Domestic passenger car sales fall sharply again.
• Imports' share of vehicle market remains firm.
Light vehicle sales faltered last month. The Autodata Corporation reported that sales of light vehicles declined 5.6% during February (-6.7% y/y) to 15.88 million units (SAAR), the lowest level in six months.
Auto sales declined 8.2% (-20.9% y/y) last month to 3.56 million units, the lowest level since last July. Purchases of domestically-produced cars fell 11.3% (-27.0% y/y) to 2.35 million units, down for the third straight month. Sales of imported autos weakened 1.6% (-6.2% y/y) to 1.21 million, but have been trending steadily higher since the low last April.
Sales of light trucks were off 4.9% (-1.6% y/y) during February to 12.32 million units versus record sales of 12.95 million in January. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks weakened 4.1% (-1.9% y/y) to 9.74 million units following two months of moderate increase. Adding to the decline, sales of imported light trucks fell 7.5% (-0.4% y/y) to 2.58 million after reaching a record 2.79 million units in January.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market improved to a record 77.6%.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market held steady last month at 23.9%, 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 34.0% in February, the highest level since November 2010. Imports' share of the light truck market eased m/m to 20.9%, down from a high of 23.0% in November.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
U.S. Economic Outlook and Monetary Policy: An Update from Fed Governor Lael Brainard can be found here.
Light Weight Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Million Units) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Total | 15.88 | 16.83 | 16.41 | -6.7 | 14.55 | 17.06 | 17.32 |
Autos | 3.56 | 3.88 | 3.84 | -20.9 | 3.54 | 4.82 | 5.40 |
Domestic | 2.35 | 2.65 | 2.70 | -27.0 | 2.53 | 3.53 | 4.05 |
Imported | 1.21 | 1.23 | 1.14 | -6.2 | 1.01 | 1.29 | 1.36 |
Light Trucks | 12.32 | 12.95 | 12.57 | -1.6 | 11.01 | 12.24 | 11.92 |
Domestic | 9.74 | 10.16 | 9.90 | -1.9 | 8.62 | 9.70 | 9.44 |
Imported | 2.58 | 2.79 | 2.67 | -0.4 | 2.39 | 2.54 | 2.48 |