US Wards Total Vehicle Sales

Sales of new cars and trucks fell 4.4% in August, unable to overcome high interest rates and a somewhat slower economy. U.S. automobile sales rose at an annual rate of 15.1 million last month, down from about 15.8 million in July, according to Ward’s Intelligence. The figure reflects how many new vehicles would be sold in the entire year if the same number were purchased each month as were sold in August. Part of the decline was expected after auto sales got a temporary boost in July. Sales in that month benefited by the recovery ...

The rebound in US auto sales likely lost momentum last month as high prices, steep borrowing costs and cyberattacks that hobbled dealerships across the country weighed on deliveries. Vehicle sales will probably slow to an annualized rate of around 15.8 million vehicles in June, based on a consensus of five market researchers, down from 16.1 million a year ago. Some analysts see the pace of sales holding steady, as shoppers have returned to showrooms since the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted supply chains and caused an inventory shortage. ...

U.S. new-vehicle sales rose 7.5% in the first quarter as supplies improved and sky-high prices eased a bit while the global shortage of computer chips started to wane. But the average auto-loan rate hit 7% during the quarter, leaving open the question of whether automakers will offer reduced rates to keep buyers interested through the rest of the year. Automakers sold 3.59 million vehicles during the first three months of the year, compared with 3.34 million a year earlier. Results from companies were mixed. Some thrived with better ...

A key issue facing businesses and investors is whether the US January data reflects a reacceleration of the world's largest economy or whether it was mostly a payback for extremely poor November and December 2022 data and seasonal adjustments and methodological distortions. Given the centrality of the US economy and rates, it is not simply a question for America, the Federal Reserve, and investors, but the implications are much broader. The issue is unlikely to be resolved in the week ahead, but it may begin pointing to the direction ...

Shortages of computer chips and other parts continued to hobble the U.S. auto industry last year, contributing to vehicle sales dropping 8% from 2021 to their lowest level in more than a decade. But there’s good news for consumers in the gloomy numbers: Vehicle supplies on dealer lots are growing, albeit slowly, and automakers expect at least a small easing in prices this year as inventories grow. Automakers reported Wednesday that they sold 13.9 million cars, trucks, SUVs and vans last year as the parts shortage limited factory ...

Global auto sales posted another month-over-month decline in October following a similar pull-back in September, still driven by a deceleration in Asia Pacific (-4.7% m/m sa) and South America (-9.2% m/m sa). Auto sales in China contracted again by -7.0% m/m (sa) in October as the impact of the lockdown lingers—making it the third consecutive month of decline—but still up 11.2% from a year ago. Experiencing a series of slowdowns in the second half of the year, South American auto sales plunged across the board in October, with Brazil ...

Two high-frequency economic reports stand out in the week ahead: The US November employment report and the preliminary eurozone CPI. The Federal Reserve has deftly distanced itself from any one employment report. As a result, it would take a significant miss of the median forecast (Bloomberg survey) to alter market expectations for a 50 bp hike when the FOMC meeting concludes on December 14. Economists are looking for around a 200k increase in US non-farm payrolls after 261k in October. In the first ten months of the year, the US has ...