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Vehicle sales tumble in June
Total vehicle sales fell from 17 million annualized units to 15.4 million annualized units in June, with monthly sales levels up 18 percent year over year. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long analyzed the report in a new Macro Data Flash report.
"Vehicle sales took a big tumble in June – after months of concerns about supply and semiconductor shortages, the squeeze has finally come to pass," said Long. "With an economy in recovery, the macroeconomic factors exist for very strong sales, unfortunately supply is not cooperating.
"The May inventory number of 2.2 million vehicles is more than 60 per cent below the lowest inventory level before 2020, driving up prices and leaving consumers with fewer choices," Long added. "Used vehicle prices are also skyrocketing, up 40 percent on the wholesale market in the past year."
Car sales declined this month from 4 million annualized units to 3.6 million annualized units while light truck sales slipped to 11.8 million annualized units.
Light truck sales have taken a beating in recent months compared to June 2019, with light truck sales 4.3 percent below two years ago and autos down 27 percent from then.
"Though supply shortages may be at their bottom, it will take a while to ramp production back up," Long concluded. "NAFCU expects tepid vehicle sales through the fall, almost fully dependent on the ability of manufacturers to build more cars."
For more up-to-date economic insights from NAFCU's award-winning research team, view NAFCU's Macro Data Flash reports.