Global| Dec 03 2018U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Remain Firm
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Sales of light vehicles eased 0.2% (-0.8% y/y) during November to 17.49 million units (SAAR), but remained near the highest level in twelve months. Passenger car sales declined 4.8% (-14.5% y/y) last month to 5.37 million units and [...]
Sales of light vehicles eased 0.2% (-0.8% y/y) during November to 17.49 million units (SAAR), but remained near the highest level in twelve months.
Passenger car sales declined 4.8% (-14.5% y/y) last month to 5.37 million units and reversed the modest increase during October. Sales of domestically made cars fell 5.3% (-13.6% y/y) to 3.95 million units and reversed the October increase. Sales of imported passenger cars eased 2.7% (-16.3% y/y) to 1.43 million units. The decline was the third in four months.
Light truck sales increased 1.9% in November to 12.12 million units and reversed the prior month's decline. Sales were nearly at the record high and up 6.8% y/y. Sales of domestically-produced light trucks rose 2.2% (4.4% y/y) to 9.71 million units and reversed the October decline. Sales have been moving steadily upward toward a record high. Sales of imported light trucks improved 0.8% (17.6% y/y) to a new record of 2.41 million units.
Trucks' share of the U.S. vehicle market reached a record 69.3% last month. This compared to 47.3% at the low during all of 2009.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market eased last month at 22.0%, down from the peak of 27.6% during all of 2009. Imports' share of the passenger car market improved to 26.6%. Imports share of the light truck market was little changed at 19.9% which remained near the cycle high, up from the low of 12.7% in 2014.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
Tom Moeller
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Prior to joining Haver Analytics in 2000, Mr. Moeller worked as the Economist at Chancellor Capital Management from 1985 to 1999. There, he developed comprehensive economic forecasts and interpreted economic data for equity and fixed income portfolio managers. Also at Chancellor, Mr. Moeller worked as an equity analyst and was responsible for researching and rating companies in the economically sensitive automobile and housing industries for investment in Chancellor’s equity portfolio. Prior to joining Chancellor, Mr. Moeller was an Economist at Citibank from 1979 to 1984. He also analyzed pricing behavior in the metals industry for the Council on Wage and Price Stability in Washington, D.C. In 1999, Mr. Moeller received the award for most accurate forecast from the Forecasters' Club of New York. From 1990 to 1992 he was President of the New York Association for Business Economists. Mr. Moeller earned an M.B.A. in Finance from Fordham University, where he graduated in 1987. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from George Washington University.
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