U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Increase in September
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Both light truck and passenger car sales rebound.
- Domestic vehicle sales improve along with imports.
- Imports' market share edges sideways.
U.S. light vehicle sales rose 6.2% (2.5% y/y) to 16.13 million units (SAAR) in September following a 5.3% August decline to 15.19 million. It was the highest level of sales in four months. In Q3, the 15.79 average level of sales compared to 15.86 million units in Q2 and 15.44 million in Q1. The rise in September vehicle sales accompanied upwardly-revised 3.1% y/y growth in real disposable income through August which compared to 4.7% growth logged last year.
Sales of light trucks rose 5.6% (3.1% y/y) during September to 12.83 million units (SAAR) and recovered all but a small piece of the August decline. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks rose 5.8% (3.5% y/y) to 9.78 million units, after falling 4.6% in August. Sales of imported light trucks rose 4.8% (1.7% y/y) to 3.05 million units following August’s 7.6% weakening.
Trucks 79.5% share of the light vehicle market last month compared to 80.0% in August and 79.2% in September of last year. The share was 79.4% during all of 2023.
Auto sales rose 8.2% (0.6% y/y) to 3.30 million units (SAAR) in September following a 4.7% August decline. Purchases of domestically-produced cars improved 7.2% (3.5% y/y) last month to 2.38 million units after falling 5.9% in August. Sales of imported autos improved 10.8% (-5.2% y/y) to 0.92 million units after holding steady in August.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market held steady at 24.6% in September. 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 27.9% last month from 27.2% in August. It reached a high of 37.9% in September 2021. Imports' share of the light truck market eased to 23.8% last month from 24.0% in August.
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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