| Motor Vehicle Sales |
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Released On 9/4/2012 For Aug, 2012
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Prior | Consensus | Consensus Range | Actual |
| Domestic Vehicle Sales | 11.0 M | 11.2 M | 11.1 M to 11.4 M | 11.6 M | | Total Vehicle Sales | 14.1 M | 14.3 M | 14.0 M to 14.7 M | 14.5 M |
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Highlights
Incentives helped to give a sizable 2.8 percent monthly boost to vehicle sales in August. Sales for the month are an annualized 14.5 million units which matches February as the best rate of the year. August's gain is centered in domestic cars and domestic trucks where strength offsets slight monthly weakness on the import side.
Though the headline gain points to strength for the motor vehicle component of the August retail sales report, vehicle sales data should come with a warning to readers. Not all unit sales go to consumers as some go to businesses. Also retail sales data are in dollar terms, not unit terms, and heavy incentives point to a smaller percentage gain for the motor vehicle component. Still, today's report is a big plus and indicates, at a time when some economic reports are sagging, that the consumer is still willing to make significant purchases.
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Market Consensus before announcement
Sales of total light motor vehicles edged lower in July to a 14.1 million annual rate versus June's 14.4 million. Importantly, June was revised up due to revisions to seasonal factors. All categories edged lower in July but again the decrease was minimal.
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Definition
Unit sales of motor vehicles include domestic sales and foreign sales, otherwise referred to as imports. Domestics are sales of autos produced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Imports are U.S. sales of vehicles produced elsewhere. These are for light vehicles which include all passenger cars and light trucks up to 14,000 pounds gross weight (including minivans and sport utility vehicles). Individual manufacturers usually report sales on the first business day of the month. One of the first tabulators of the data is Autodata Corporation. Motor vehicle sales are good indicators of trends in consumer spending and often are considered a leading indicator at business cycle turning points.
Why Investors Care
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![[Chart]](showimage.asp?imageid=23135)
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Motor vehicles sales slowed notably in 2008 and 2009 due to recession. Recovery boosted sales in 2010 and early 2011 before economic growth slowed. Truck shares hit their peak in 2005 when gasoline was cheap. Trucks have since oscillated sharply with spikes in gasoline in 2008 and 2010.
Data Source: Haver Analytics
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