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Vehicle sales dip in August
Total vehicle sales fell slightly from 13.3 million annualized units in July to 13.2 million annualized units in August, with monthly sales levels up 0.7 percent year-over-year. NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long analyzes the data in a new Macro Data Flash report.
"Prices remain red-hot as global and domestic production continues to be constrained by chip shortages," said Long. "Using dealership data, CoPilot found that on average used cars are commanding a $10,000 premium when compared to pre-pandemic price trends.
“Furthermore, according to Kelly Blue Book, the average new-vehicle transaction price for July is projected to be the highest on record,” added Long. “While that is bad for consumers, J.D. Power estimates the industry will have grossed $45.3 billion in July, the second-highest level in July on record.”
Car sales were unchanged in August with 2.8 million annualized units sold. Light truck sales fell from 10.5 million annualized units to 10.3 million.
Domestic production fell in July, but it was 10.4 percent higher than the same month in 2021. Inventory sales decreased slightly to 0.51 months of sales in July, compared to 2.4 months of sales in July of 2019.
"On the supply front, AutoForecast Solutions found 32,900 vehicles were cut from global production last week alone,” concluded Long. “But plenty of buyers are unwilling or unable to wait any longer, and credit unions should continue to fare well with used auto loans despite the higher rate environment.”
For more up-to-date economic insights from NAFCU's award-winning research team, view NAFCU's Macro Data Flash reports.