U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Fall Sharply in June
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Both light truck and passenger car sales decline.
- Imports' market share improves.
The Autodata Corporation reported that U.S. light vehicle sales declined 3.9% (-4.4% y/y) to 15.50 million units (SAAR) in June after rising 1.1% to 16.13 million in May. Sales were at the lowest level since January. They averaged 15.86 million in Q2 after 15.43 million in Q1 and 15.63 million during all of last year. The rise accompanied 1.1% y/y growth in real disposable income through May compared to 3.8% growth logged last year.
Auto sales declined 7.5% (-10.1% y/y) to 2.94 million units (SAAR) in June following a 2.3% May improvement. During all of Q2, sales fell 3.9%. Purchases of domestically-produced cars weakened 9.5% (-7.6% y/y) last month to 2.19 million units after rising 8.5% in May. Sales of imported autos fell 3.8% (-12.8% y/y) to 0.75 million units after declining 11.4% in May. It was the fifth decline in the last six months.
Sales of light trucks fell 2.9% (-3.0% y/y) during June to 12.56 million units (SAAR) after rising 0.6% in May. During all of Q2, they rose 3.3%. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks weakened 3.7% (-4.0% y/y) to 9.69 million units, after rising 3.8% in May. Sales of imported light trucks eased 0.3% (+0.3% y/y) to 2.87 million units following an 8.9% May decline.
Trucks 81.0% share of the light vehicle market last month set another record and compared to 80.2% in May and 79.8% in June of last year. The share was 79.4% during all of 2013.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market recovered to 23.4% in June after falling sharply in May to 22.7%. It compared to a May 2023 low of 22.3% and reached a high of 26.3% in November of last year. Imports' share of the passenger car market rose to 25.5% from 24.5% in May. It reached a high of 37.9% in September 2021. Imports' share of the light truck market improved to 22.9% from 22.3% in May.
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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