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 7/1/08 For Jun 2008 | ||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||
Highlights
Vehicle sales proved very weak again in June, falling further to a 13.6 million combined domestic-made and import rate that's the lowest since September 1993 (total domestic rate is 9.9 million). Hit by gas prices, consumers are moving to cars though sales of both cars and trucks slipped compared to May. Import cars were the only strong category, at a record 2.8 million rate and offering evidence of demand for fuel efficiency. These results point to a decline in the motor vehicle category for the June retail sales report at mid-month.
Sales of domestic motor vehicles proved very weak in May, coming in at a 10.3 million annual sales rate that is down from 10.5 million in April and the worst results since July 1998. Light trucks sold at a 6.0 million rate for the worst results since 1995 and confirmed the need for GM's recent announcement that it is closing four light truck plants and is putting Hummer on the sales block. Consumers moved to cars which, at an 8.0 million rate, showed the strongest results since May 2007. Cars are significantly less expensive to buy than light trucks and SUVs and also do not empty the wallet as fast at the gasoline station.
Motor vehicle domestic sales Consensus Forecast for June 08: 10.1 million-unit rate
Range: 9.9 to 10.3 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}