Global| Aug 02 2007U.S. Vehicle Sales Suffer Housing Market Woes
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
During July, U.S. sales of light vehicles fell for the seventh consecutive month this year. The decline was attributed by manufactures to spillover effects from weak housing & construction activity. The 0.4% m/m decline to an [...]
During July, U.S. sales of light vehicles fell for the seventh consecutive month this year. The decline was attributed by manufactures to spillover effects from weak housing & construction activity.
The 0.4% m/m decline to an annualized selling rate of 15.5M units, according to the Autodata Corporation, was slight but it dropped sales nearly 10% below the year earlier level. The decline was to the lowest since October 2005.
Sales of imported vehicles dropped a very slight 0.2% m/m to 3.99M (-5.3% y/y), again propped up by sharp discounting. Sales of imported cars ticked up by 0.6% m/m but that was not enough to prevent an 8.6% decline versus a year ago. Sales of imported light trucks fell 1.7% m/m (+1.5% y/y).
Domestic car sales again suffered a steep decline with a hard 5.4%m/m drop (-11.2% y/y). Sales of domestic light trucks recovered a bit of the prior two month’s steep declines with a 3.3% m/m increase (-10.8% y/y).
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| Light Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Mil. Units) | June | May | Y/Y | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 15.54 | 15.60 | -9.6% | 16.55 | 16.96 | 16.87 |
| Autos | 7.37 | 7.63 | -10.3% | 7.77 | 7.65 | 7.49 |
| Trucks | 8.16 | 7.97 | -8.9% | 8.78 | 9.32 | 9.37 |
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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