U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Surge During April
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Sales rise to roughly two-year high.
- Light truck & auto sales strengthen.
- Imported vehicle sales rise moderately.
The Autodata Corporation reported that light vehicle sales during April strengthened 7.7% (11.2% y/y) to 16.15 million units (SAAR) after easing 0.3% to 14.99 million in March. Last month’s strength powered sales to the highest level since May 2021. They remained below the April 2021 peak of 18.37 million. Sales have improved from the September 2021 low of 12.38 million. Vehicle sales comprise about four percent of real consumer expenditures.
Auto sales led last month’s upturn and rose 9.2% (6.4% y/y) to 3.33 million units after rising 1.0% during March. Purchases of domestically-made autos improved 11.4% both m/m and y/y to 2.45 million units after rising 5.8% in March to 2.20 million. Sales of imported autos increased 4.8% (-5.4% y/y) to 0.88 million units after weakening 10.6% to 0.84 million units in March.
Also strong were sales of light trucks which rose 7.2% last month (12.5% y/y) to 12.81 million units after easing 0.6% in March to 11.95 million units. Purchases of imported light trucks were strongest and rose 11.0% (10.1% y/y) to 2.83 million after falling 0.8% in March to 2.55 million units. Sales of domestically-produced light trucks improved 6.2% (13.2% y/y) to 9.98 million after easing 0.5% to 9.40 million in March.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market eased to 79.3% in April from 79.7% in March, but remained near the record high.
Imports' total share of the U.S. vehicle market improved to 23.0% last month after falling to 22.6% in March. It remained nearly the lowest share since November 2021 and stood below a high of 28.0% in September 2021. Imports' share of the passenger car market fell to 26.4% last month from 27.5% in March. It was the lowest share since March 2020. Imports' share of the light truck market rose to 22.1% in April from 21.3% 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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