The pace of US light vehicle sales slowed for a second month in March, weighed down by easing sales of both light trucks and autos.
Total sales declined to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.8mn vehicles in March from 15mn vehicles in February, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). Total sales hit a recent peak of a 16mn unit pace in January, the highest since May 2021.
Light truck sales slowed to a pace of 11.8mn in March from 12mn in February and auto sales fell to a 2.98mn unit annual pace in March from 3mn the prior month.
The pace of total light vehicles sales in March still exceeded the year-earlier rate of 13.6mn vehicles. Light truck sales in March compared with a 10.8mn unit pace a year earlier, while auto sales compared with a 2.7mn unit rate a year earlier.
Supply of autos for sale have been squeezed by shortages of semi conductors and other spare parts, while surging inflation and rising lending rates have prompted many consumers to hold off on auto purchases as economists have warned the economy may be headed for a recession.
Still, availability of semiconductor chips has improved over the past few months but is still not back to normal, pre-pandemic levels, according to a recent report by AutoForecast Solutions.
"There is light at the end of this particular tunnel, but the industry has a distance to travel before we get out," an AutoForecast analyst said this week.
AutoForecast Solutions still expects a production deficit of 2.83mn US vehicles in 2023 because of missing chips.
