U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Move Up in April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Light truck sales improve considerably while passenger car sales edge higher.
- Imports' market share gains ground.
The Autodata Corporation reported that U.S. light vehicle sales rose 2.8% (1.5% y/y) to 16.00 million units (SAAR) in April after falling 1.9% to 15.56 million in March. Sales averaged 15.43 million in Q1.
Sales of light trucks rose 2.9% (3.4% y/y) during April to 12.9 million units (SAAR) after falling 1.3% in March. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks edged 0.5% higher to 9.68 million units (unchanged y/y), after falling 2.5% in March. Sales of imported light trucks strengthened 10.7% (15.0% y/y) to 3.22 million units, the highest level in three years, after a 3.6% March increase.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market held steady at a record 80.6% last month compared to 79.1% in April of last year.
Auto sales rose 1.3% (-5.8% y/y) to 3.10 million units (SAAR) in April following a 2.9% March decline. Purchases of domestically-produced cars improved 2.8% (-7.2% y/y) last month to 2.19 million units after falling 3.6% in March. Sales of imported autos weakened 2.2% both m/m and y/y to 0.91 million units after easing 1.1% in March.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market rose to 25.8% in April from 24.7% in March, up versus a May 2023 low of 22.3%. Imports' share of the passenger car market declined to 29.4% from 30.4% in March. It reached a high of 37.9% in September 2021. Imports' share of the light truck market improved to 25.0%, a five-month high, from 23.2% in March.
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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