U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Decline Sharply in May
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Light truck & auto sales tumble.
- Both domestic & imported sales suffer.
- Imports' market share continues to weaken.
U.S. light vehicle sales slumped 9.2% (-2.3% y/y) to 15.72 million units (SAAR) in May after falling 2.9% to 17.31 million units in April. The retreat in May vehicle sales accompanied a 2.9% y/y rise in real disposable income through April, which compared to 2.1% growth last year.
Sales declines were broad-based last month. Light truck sales fell 9.1% (+0.8% y/y) during May to 13.04 million units (SAAR), after weakening 1.3% in April. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks declined 7.6% (+2.3% y/y) to 10.18 million units, after falling 1.2% in May. Sales of imported light trucks fell 13.9% (-4.3% y/y) to 2.86 million units, following a 1.8% fall during April.
Trucks’ record 83.0% share of the light vehicle market last month compared to 82.8% in April and 80.4% in May of last year. The share averaged 80.3% during all of 2024 versus 56.9% ten years earlier.
Auto sales also declined sharply last month, down 9.1% (-14.6%) to 2.69 million units (SAAR) following a 9.8% April drop. Purchases of domestically-produced cars were off 8.6% (-13.2% y/y) last month to 2.03 million units, after declining 9.8% in April. Sales of imported autos declined 12.2% (-19.8% y/y) to 0.65 million units, following a 10.8% April fall.
Imports' 22.3% share of the U.S. light vehicle market fell sharply from 23.5% in April and compared to a May 2023 low of 22.9% and a high of 26.3% in November of 2023. Imports' share of the passenger car market fell to 24.2% last month and compared to 25.7% in May of last year. It reached a high of 38.7% in September 2021. Imports' share of the light truck market weakened to 21.9% last month after falling to 23.2% in April.
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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