U.S. Light Vehicle Sales Decline in February
by:Tom Moeller
|in:Economy in Brief
Summary
- Both auto & light truck sales reverse some of January's gain.
- Imports' share increases to five-month high.
The Autodata Corporation reported that light vehicle sales during February fell 6.9% (-12.3% y/y) to 14.15 million units (SAAR). Sales were 23.5% below the April '21 peak of 18.50 million units.
Sales of light trucks declined 7.4% (-10.7% y/y) last month to 11.18 million units. Purchases of domestically-made light trucks weakened 8.3% in February (-12.2% y/y) to 8.62 million units. Adding to this decline was a 4.5% easing (-5.2% y/y) in sales of imported light trucks to 2.56 million units.
Trucks' share of the light vehicle market slipped to 79.0% and remained below an 80.4% share in October.
Passenger car sales fell 4.5% (-17.5% y/y) in February to 2.98 million units. Purchases of domestically-produced cars declined 3.8% last month (-16.7% y/y) to 2.00 million units. Sales of imported autos eased 5.8% last month (-19.0% y/y) to 0.98 million units.
Imports' share of the U.S. vehicle market rose in February to 25.0% but it was still below last September's high of 27.9%. Imports' share of the passenger car market fell to 32.9% last month. Imports' share of the light truck market increased to 22.9%, the highest level since September.
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.
More Economy in Brief
