Global| Jun 01 2011U.S. Vehicle Sales Drop Sharply
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Lower consumer confidence can quickly translate into less spending. That seems to have been the case during May. Consumer Confidence dropped 7.9% last month according to the Conference Board. Today's news is that unit sales of light [...]
Lower consumer confidence can quickly translate into less spending. That seems to have been the case during May. Consumer Confidence dropped 7.9% last month according to the Conference Board. Today's news is that unit sales of light vehicles dropped 10.5% last month to 11.79M units (SAAR) after the 0.5% uptick during April. The Consensus expectation was for sales of 12.8M, according to the Bloomberg survey. (Seasonal adjustment of these figures is provided by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.)
Sales of autos fell hardest by 15.4% m/m to 5.77M. Domestic sales slipped 16.4% to 3.95M and sales of imports fell 13.3% to 1.82M.
Sales of less fuel efficient light trucks declined 5.1% m/m to 6.02M. Domestic model sales fell 4.5% to 5.14M while imports dropped 8.1% to 0.88M, the lowest level since June of last year.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market slipped to 22.9%. (Imported vehicles are those produced outside the United States.) Imports' share of the U.S. car market rose to 31.6% versus the record 35.0% for all of 2010. Imports' share of the light truck market fell to 14.7% versus 19.7% in 2009.
The U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database.
| Light Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Mil. Units) | May | Apr | Mar | Y/Y | 2010 | 2009 | 2008 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 11.79 | 13.17 | 13.11 | 1.3% | 11.58 | 10.38 | 13.22 |
| Autos | 5.77 | 6.83 | 6.97 | 1.6 | 5.78 | 5.45 | 6.76 |
| Domestic | 3.95 | 4.73 | 4.77 | 3.2 | 3.78 | 3.56 | 4.44 |
| Imported | 1.82 | 2.10 | 2.20 | -1.7 | 2.02 | 1.89 | 2.32 |
| Light Trucks | 6.02 | 6.34 | 6.14 | 1.0 | 5.80 | 4.93 | 6.46 |
| Domestic | 5.14 | 5.38 | 5.10 | 1.1 | 4.84 | 3.96 | 5.28 |
| Imported | 0.88 | 0.96 | 1.05 | 0.2 | 0.96 | 0.97 | 1.18 |
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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