Global| Jan 05 2012U.S. Vehicle Sales End Year On A Firm Note
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
Last year was a good one for auto makers. December's unit sales of light vehicles of 13.56M (AR) rose 8.4% from one year earlier. That pulled full year sales to 12.78M, up 10.4% after 2010's 11.6% gain. Last month's sales were nearly [...]
Last year was a good one for auto makers. December's unit sales of light vehicles of 13.56M (AR) rose 8.4% from one year earlier. That pulled full year sales to 12.78M, up 10.4% after 2010's 11.6% gain. Last month's sales were nearly the highest in more than two years and roughly matched the Consensus estimate for 13.5M sales, according to Bloomberg.
The overall sales gain in December was led by light trucks which rose 9.6% y/y to 7.04M units. For the full year sales rose 12.9% to 6.54M. Domestic model sales rose 12.0% y/y to 6.04M in December but sales of imports fell 3.1% y/y to 1.00M. Auto sales also were firm and posted a 7.1% y/y gain in December to 6.52M. For the year sales rose 7.8% to 6.24M. Imported car sales rose 12.5% y/y to 2.32M and sales of domestics rose 4.3% to 4.20M.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market again rose slightly to 24.4% in December. (Imported vehicles are those produced outside the United States.) For the full-year imports' share of 23.6% was down from 25.6% in 2010 as production facilities were closed due to Japan's earthquake & tsunami. Imports' share of the U.S. car market rose m/m to 35.5%. For the full year, imports' share of 32.4% compared to the record 34.7% for all of 2009. Imports' share of the light truck market slipped to 14.1% last month and 13.2% for the year versus the high of 19.7% in 2009.
The U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database.
| Light Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Mil. Units) | Dec | Nov | Oct | Y/Y % | 2011 | 2010 | 2009 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 13.56 | 13.63 | 13.26 | 8.4 | 12.78 | 11.58 | 10.38 |
| Autos | 6.52 | 6.66 | 6.43 | 7.1 | 6.24 | 5.79 | 5.45 |
| Domestic | 4.20 | 4.36 | 4.27 | 4.3 | 4.22 | 3.78 | 3.56 |
| Imported | 2.32 | 2.30 | 2.16 | 12.5 | 2.02 | 2.00 | 1.89 |
| Light Trucks | 7.04 | 6.97 | 6.83 | 9.6 | 6.54 | 5.79 | 4.93 |
| Domestic | 6.04 | 5.98 | 5.84 | 12.0 | 5.55 | 4.84 | 3.96 |
| Imported | 1.00 | 1.00 | 0.98 | -3.1 | 1.00 | 0.96 | 0.97 |
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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