Econoday Economic Report: Motor Vehicle Sales

2012 Economic Calendar

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Motor Vehicle Sales

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Released On 3/29/2012 8:00:00 PM For Mar, 2012

	Prior	Consensus	Consensus Range	Actual
Domestic Vehicle Sales	11.4 M	11.3 M	11.2 M to 11.5 M	10.9 M
Total Vehicle Sales	15.1 M	14.7 M	14.3 M to 15.2 M	14.4 M

Highlights
Vehicle sales look very weak in March, at least compared to a very strong February. Unit sales fell 4.8 percent to a 14.4 million rate in March vs a 15.1 million rate in February. But what will likely trim this monthly decline in dollar terms is relative strength in sales of trucks which have higher sticker prices than cars and where sales slowed only slightly. Car sales show sizable slowing in the month, both for North American made and for imports.

Unit sales, which also include sales to fleets which aren't counted in retail sales, rarely translate directly to dollar sales but today's indications are clearly negative for the motor vehicle component of the February retail sales report. Chain stores will post their monthly results on Thursday.

Market Consensus before announcement
Sales of total light motor vehicles jumped 6.5 percent in February to an annual rate of 15.1 million. The gain was centered in cars, especially imports. Domestics posted at a healthy 11.4 million unit pace, up 5.8 percent from the 10.7 million unit rate in January.

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

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

2012 Released Schedule

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