Unit sales of domestically produced cars and light duty trucks (including sport utility vehicles and mini-vans). Individual manufacturers report usually report sales on the first business day of the month. Motor vehicle sales are good indicators of trends in consumer spending. Why Investors Care
| Released on 5/1/08 For Apr 2008 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Highlights
Vehicle sales look alarmingly weak in April coming in at a combined domestic and import annual unit rate of 13.9 million that would be the weakest showing since 1993. But the numbers are based on an incomplete sample of about 90 percent as Honda, due to technical difficulties, was unable to post detailed results. Kia, a major importer, had also not posted their results. In any case, the theme is clear -- consumers are avoiding light trucks because of high gas prices. Car rates were actually stable in the month with weakness all on the truck side. These results definitely point to a month-to-month drop in the motor vehicle category for the April retail sales report from the Commerce Department, a category that makes up about 20 percent of total sales.
Sales of domestic motor vehicle were unusually weak in March, coming in at an 11.0 million unit annualized pace, down from 11.6 million the month before. Sales of light trucks were especially weak, dropping to a 6.1 million rate for domestics from 7.1 million in February as high gasoline prices are cutting into demand along with the softer economy. Domestic car sales slipped to 4.8 million units from 4.9 million in February.
Motor vehicle sales Consensus Forecast for April 08: 11.5 million-unit rate
Range: 11.1 to 15.4 million-unit rate
![[Chart]](chart.gif)
|
Motor vehicles sales slowed notably in 2006 as a result of higher interest rates and a jump in gasoline prices but remained at reasonable levels due to strong income growth. Late in 2006 and in early 2007, gasoline prices were down from 2006 highs but moderating economic growth kept sales from rebounding. Truck shares hit their peak in 2005 when gasoline was cheap and remain sharply lower since gasoline prices spiked in 2006. |
| 2008 Release Schedule | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
powered by
![[Econoday]](../../../../../../../../../images/logo.gif){kind=logo}