U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Ease During March
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales uptrend remains in place.
- Light truck sales fall modestly; car sales trend sideways.
- Imported vehicle sales fall to six-month low.
The Autodata Corporation reported that light vehicle sales during March eased 1.1% (+9.0% y/y) to 14.90 million units (SAAR) after falling 6.6% to 15.07 million in February. Sales remain below the April 2021 peak of 18.37 million but have trended higher since a May 2022 low of 12.73 million. Vehicle sales comprise about four percent of real consumer expenditures.
Sales of light trucks fell 1.4% last month (+8.8% y/y) to 11.86 million after declining 6.3% in February to 12.03 million units. Purchases of domestically-produced light trucks weakened 1.1% (+8.6% y/y) to 9.33 million after falling 5.4% in February to 9.43 million units. Sales of imported light trucks declined 3.4% (+9.5% y/y) to 2.53 million after falling 8.7% to 2.62 million in February.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market eased to 79.6% in March from 79.8% in February, remaining near the record high.
Auto sales held steady (+9.7% y/y) at 3.04 million units in March after falling 7.6% during February. Sales have been moving sideways since mid-2021. Purchases of domestically-made autos rose 5.8% (14.6% y/y) to 2.20 million units after falling 8.0% in February to 2.08 million units. Sales of imported autos weakened 13.5% (-2.4% y/y) to 0.83 million units after weakening 6.8% to 0.96 million units in February.
Imports' total share of the U.S. vehicle market weakened to 22.6% last month after falling to 23.6% in February. It was the lowest share since November 2021 and stood below a high of 28.0% in September 2021. Imports' share of the passenger car market fell sharply to 27.3% last month from 31.6% in February. It as the lowest share since October of last year. Imports' share of the light truck market fell to 21.3% in March from 21.8% in February.
U.S. vehicle sales figures can be found in Haver's USECON database. Additional detail by manufacturer is in the INDUSTRY database.
Are Traditional Measures of Economic Growth Incomplete? from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia 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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