Econoday Economic Report: Motor Vehicle Sales

2012 Economic Calendar

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Motor Vehicle Sales

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Released On 11/28/2012 8:00:00 PM For Nov, 2012

	Prior	Consensus	Consensus Range	Actual
Domestic Vehicle Sales	11.1 M	11.8 M	11.5 M to 12.0 M	12.0 M
Total Vehicle Sales	14.3 M	15.0 M	13.9 M to 15.3 M	15.5 M

Highlights
Vehicle sales are very strong, surging a monthly 8.7 percent in November to a 15.5 million annual rate. Replacement demand tied to Hurricane Sandy boosted sales as did incentives during the month. Changes in unit sales don't always translate into the same changes for dollar sales, but these gains are so significant that they point squarely to a significant gain for the government's motor vehicle component especially given an easy comparison with a soft October.

Market Consensus before announcement
Sales of total light motor vehicles were weighed down by Hurricane Sandy. As it approached the U.S. East Coast, consumers in the East decided to spend more time prepping for the impact than shopping for a new car. And recovery mode slowed sales for which the monthly period goes all the way out to October 31. October's annual sales rate came in at 14.29 million which was a sharp 4.4 percent lower than September's. Weakness in the month was evenly split between cars and trucks and domestic-made and foreign-made.

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

Released On: 1/4 2/1 3/1 4/3 5/1 6/1 7/3 8/1 9/4 10/2 11/1 12/3

Release For: Dec Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Nov