Global| Feb 03 2010U.S. Vehicle Sales Suffer From Promotions' End
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
The beginning of the new year brought an attempt by car-makers to back away from end-of-year sales promotions. As a result, higher prices as well as reduced inventories caused U.S. unit sales of light vehicles during January to fall. [...]
The
beginning of the new year brought an attempt by car-makers to back away
from end-of-year sales promotions. As a result, higher prices as well
as reduced inventories caused U.S. unit sales of
light vehicles during January to fall. According to the
Autodata corporation, the decline to a seasonally adjusted 10.78M units
from 11.25M in December nevertheless left sales up 12.1% from last
January when the recession was near its depths. Sales were slightly
weaker than Consensus expectations for 11.0M. (Seasonal adjustment of
these figures is provided by the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis).
Sales of domestically made vehicles fell 6.4% last month to 7.88M units from 8.42M in December. Sales of fuel efficient cars fell 8.2% for the month (+30.3% y/y) following strength during December. Light truck sales similarly fell 4.7% m/m to the lowest level since September.
Contrary to the declines in domestics, imported light vehicle sales mirrored their December gain with a 2.5% m/m increase. The rise to 2.90M was to the highest level since August and raised them 2.2% y/y. Sales of imported autos inched up another 1.5% m/m while light truck sales rose 4.6% during January and by 18.0% from last year's low.
Overall, import's share of the U.S. light vehicle market during January improved m/m to 26.9%. That was its highest level since September but still down from its high of 27.6% during all of last year. (Imported vehicles are those produced outside the United States.) Imports' share of the U.S. car market improved m/m to 33.7% but that still was below 34.3% during all 2009. Imports' share of the light truck market rose m/m to 19.1%, roughly stable with 19.6% last year.
The U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database.
| Light Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Mil. Units) | January | December | November | Jan. Y/Y | 2009 | 2008 | 2007 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 10.78 | 11.25 | 10.93 | 12.1% | 10.37 | 13.22 | 16.16 |
| Autos | 5.70 | 6.01 | 5.65 | 21.6 | 5.46 | 6.76 | 7.58 |
| Domestic | 3.78 | 4.11 | 3.77 | 30.3 | 3.56 | 4.44 | 5.06 |
| Imported | 1.92 | 1.89 | 1.88 | 7.6 | 1.90 | 2.32 | 2.52 |
| Light Trucks | 5.08 | 5.24 | 5.28 | 3.1 | 4.91 | 6.46 | 8.60 |
| Domestic | 4.11 | 4.31 | 4.40 | 5.8 | 3.95 | 5.28 | 7.10 |
| Imported | 0.97 | 0.93 | 0.88 | -7.1 | 0.96 | 1.18 | 1.47 |
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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