Global| Mar 01 2019U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Decline to Four-Year Low
Summary
Sales of light vehicles decreased 0.8% (-2.6% year-on-year) in February to 16.57 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This is the weakest vehicle sales since February 2015. An 8.1% drop in auto sales (-11.6% y/y) [...]
Sales of light vehicles decreased 0.8% (-2.6% year-on-year) in February to 16.57 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR). This is the weakest vehicle sales since February 2015.
An 8.1% drop in auto sales (-11.6% y/y) to a 5.02 million unit pace drove the decline. In January sales increased 2.1%. Purchases of domestically-produced cars fell 9.0% (-11.0% y/y) to 3.65 million units. Sales of imported cars were down 5.5% (-13.0% y/y) to 1.37 million.
Light-truck sales grew 2.8% (1.9% y/y) last month to an 11.55 million unit rate, reversing some of January's 7.9% drop. Purchases of domestically-made light-trucks gained 2.1% (0.3% y/y) to 9.15 million units. Sales of imported light trucks jumped 4.8% (8.3% y/y) to 2.39 million.
Trucks' share of the U.S. vehicle market rebounded to a record high 69.7% (the Autodata series goes back to 1990; the Bureau of Economic Analysis data, which goes back to 1976, hit a record 70.5%).
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market rose last month to 22.7%, with the auto share up to 27.3% and the light truck market increasing to 20.7%, a nine-and-a-half year high.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
| Light Weight Vehicle Sales (SAAR, Million Units) | Feb | Jan | Dec | Feb Y/Y % | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total | 16.57 | 16.70 | 17.55 | -2.6 | 17.21 | 17.23 | 17.55 |
| Autos | 5.02 | 5.46 | 5.35 | -11.6 | 5.48 | 6.33 | 7.10 |
| Domestic | 3.65 | 4.01 | 3.99 | -11.0 | 3.99 | 4.58 | 5.20 |
| Imported | 1.37 | 1.45 | 1.36 | -13.0 | 1.49 | 1.75 | 1.90 |
| Light Trucks | 11.55 | 11.24 | 12.21 | 1.9 | 11.74 | 10.90 | 10.44 |
| Domestic | 9.15 | 8.96 | 9.76 | 0.3 | 9.42 | 9.00 | 8.75 |
| Imported | 2.39 | 2.28 | 2.45 | 8.3 | 2.32 | 1.90 | 1.69 |
Gerald D. Cohen
AuthorMore in Author Profile »Gerald Cohen provides strategic vision and leadership of the translational economic research and policy initiatives at the Kenan Institute of Private Enterprise.
He has worked in both the public and private sectors focusing on the intersection between financial markets and economic fundamentals. He was a Senior Economist at Haver Analytics from January 2019 to February 2021. During the Obama Administration Gerald was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Macroeconomic Analysis at the U.S. Department of Treasury where he helped formulate and evaluate the impact of policy proposals on the U.S. economy. Prior to Treasury, he co-managed a global macro fund at Ziff Brothers Investments.
Gerald holds a bachelor’s of science from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a Ph.D. in Economics from Harvard University and is a contributing author to 30-Second Money as well as a co-author of Political Cycles and the Macroeconomy.
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