U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Rise Modestly in July
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
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Light truck sales improve but car sales are stable.
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Sales remain constrained as parts shortages limit dealer inventory.
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Imports' share slips.
The Autodata Corporation reported that light vehicle sales during July rose 2.2% (-8.8% y/y) to 13.51 million units (SAAR). Sales were roughly one-quarter below the April 2021 peak. Vehicle sales comprise roughly four percent of real consumer expenditures.
Sales of light trucks led last month's overall improvement by rising 2.9% (-5.1% y/y) to 10.69 million units following a 3.3% June gain. Despite the gains, truck sales remained 11.6% below their January peak. Purchases of domestically-produced light trucks improved 4.0% last month (-2.3% y/y) to 8.32 million units after rising 1.1% in June. Sales of imported light trucks eased 0.8% to 2.37 million units and were off 13.2% y/y.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market rose to 79.1% in July but remained down from the 80.4% share nine months earlier.
Auto sales eased 0.4%, off 20.6% y/y, to 2.82 million units after rising 0.7% in June. Purchases of domestically-made autos fell 3.0% in July to 1.95 million units, off 15.2% y/y. Sales of imported autos improved 7.3% (-29.6% y/y) to 0.88 million units.
Imports' total share of the U.S. vehicle market fell m/m to 24.1% and remained below February's 25.4% share. Imports' share of the passenger car market rose to nearly one-third, but remained down from the September 2021 high of 38.1%. Imports' share of the light truck market fell to 22.2%.
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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