U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Rebound Modestly in February
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Both light trucks & autos recover part of January decline.
- Domestic sales rise, but import sales are mixed.
- Imports' market share slips further.
The vehicle market improved last month following a sharp sales decline in January. U.S. light vehicle sales rose 3.3% (2.8% y/y) to 16.30 million units (SAAR) in February after falling 7.7% to 15.78 million in January. The rise in February vehicle sales accompanied a reduced 1.8% y/y rise in real disposable income through January, which compared to 2.2% growth last year.
Sales improvement was broad-based last month. Light truck sales rose 3.1% (2.8% y/y) during February to 13.15 million units (SAAR), after falling 7.4% in January. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks improved 2.8% (1.5% y/y) to 10.02 million units, after falling 6.3% in January. Sales of imported light trucks rose 4.0% (7.2% y/y) to 3.13 million units, following January’s 10.7% decline.
Trucks’ 80.7% share of the light vehicle market last month compared to 80.9% in January and 80.6% in February of last year. The share was 80.3% during all of 2024 and 53.3% ten years earlier.
Auto sales also improved last month and rose 4.0% (-1.9%) to 3.15 million units (SAAR) following an 8.5% January decline. Auto sales have been moving sideways since early-2023. Purchases of domestically-produced cars rose 6.8% (4.0% y/y) last month to 2.34 million units, after falling 9.1% in January. Sales of imported autos declined 2.4% (-14.6% y/y) to 0.82 million units, following a 7.7% January decrease.
Imports' share of the U.S. light vehicle market eased to 24.2% in February from 24.4% in January. It compared to a May 2023 low of 22.9% before it reached a high of 26.3% in November of 2023. Imports' share of the passenger car market fell to 26.0% last month from 27.7% in January. It reached a high of 38.7% in September 2021. Imports' share of the light truck market rose to 23.8% last month after falling to from 23.6% in January.
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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