U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Ease During August
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Light truck purchases slip, but auto sales improve.
- Imports' share strengthens.
- Sales remain constrained as parts shortages limit production.
The Autodata Corporation reported that light vehicle sales during August fell 1.0% (+1.4% y/y) to 13.37 million units (SAAR) from 13.50 million in July. Sales remained roughly one-quarter below the April 2021 peak. Vehicle sales comprise about four percent of real consumer expenditures.
Sales of light trucks led last month's overall decline, falling 2.2% (+3.8% y/y) to 10.44 million units following a 2.8% July gain. Purchases of domestically-produced light trucks weakened 3.2% last month (+6.1% y/y) to 8.05 million units after rising 4.0% in July. Sales of imported light trucks edged 0.8% higher to 2.38 million units (-3.3% y/y) after easing 1.3% in July.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market eased to 78.1% in August and remained down from the 80.4% high in October 2021.
Auto sales rose 3.5% during August (-6.4% y/y) to 2.93 million units, a four-month high, after holding steady in July. Purchases of domestically-made autos rose 2.6% in August (-1.0% y/y) to 2.0 million units following three straight months of decline. Sales of imported autos surged 5.7% (-16.2% y/y) to 0.93 million units, also a four-month high.
Imports' total share of the U.S. vehicle market rose to 24.8% in last month, the highest level in six months. Imports' share of the passenger car market improved to 31.7% last month, but remained down from the September 2021 high of 38.1%. Imports' share of the light truck market rose to 22.8%.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
Returning to Price Stability from Cleveland Fed President Loretta J. Mester is available here.
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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