U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Retreat in February
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Total sales reverse just half of January surge.
- Light truck sales backpedal; car sales trend sideways.
- Imported vehicle sales fall sharply.
The Autodata Corporation reported that February light vehicle sales fell 6.3% (+8.8% y/y) to 15.19 million units (SAAR) after increasing 19.2% to 16.21 million in January. Sales remain below the April 2021 peak of 18.37 million but the two months together stood at the highest level since June 2021. Vehicle sales comprise about four percent of real consumer expenditures.
Sales of light trucks fell 6.1% last month (+9.6% y/y) to 12.09 million after surging 22.1% in January to 12.87 million units. Purchases of domestically-produced light trucks weakened 5.3% (+11.3% y/y) to 9.46 million after rising 24.6% in January to 9.99 million units. Sales of imported light trucks declined 9.0% (+3.6% y/y) to 2.62 million after strengthening 14.3% to 2.88 million in January.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market rose to 79.6% in February from 79.4% in January, and roughly matched a 79.7% high in March 2022.
Auto sales declined 7.2% in February (+6.2% y/y) to 3.10 million units after increasing 9.2% during January to 3.34 million units. Sales have been moving sideways since mid-2021. Purchases of domestically-made autos declined 7.8% (+10.4% y/y) to 2.13 million units and reversed all of the 7.9% January increase to 2.31 million units. Sales of imported autos weakened 6.8% (-3.0% y/y) to 0.96 million units after rising 12.0% to 1.03 million units in January.
Imports' total share of the U.S. vehicle market fell to 23.6% last month after falling to 24.1% in January. It was the lowest share since July of 2022 and below a high of 28.0% in September 2021. Imports' share of the passenger car market improved to 31.0% last month from 30.8% in January, but remained down from the September 2021 high of 37.9%. Imports' share of the light truck market fell to 21.7% in February from 22.4% 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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