Analysts in the US say that the vehicle market in May is being squeezed by higher gasoline prices as well as inventory shortages for some manufacturers.
TrueCar.com forecasts that for May 2011, new light vehicle sales in the US (including fleet) is expected to be 1,060,392 units, down 3.7% from May 2010 and down 8.3% from April 2011 (on an unadjusted basis). It says the May 2011 forecast translates into a Seasonally Adjusted Annualised Rate (SAAR) of 11.85m new car sales, down from 13.18m in April 2011, but up from 11.63m in May 2010.
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It also says that retail sales are down 10.7% compared to April 2011 and down 3.1% from May 2010.
“Inventory constraints finally hit the Japanese automakers this month but the recovery in supply appears quicker than first anticipated,” said Jesse Toprak, VP of Industry Trends and Insights for TrueCar.com.
“Current inventory shortages and perceived inventory shortages led to the lowest incentive spending in nearly nine years and the lowest SAAR of the year. This is a sizeable speed bump on the road to recovery.”
“High gas prices affected large truck sales dramatically hurting GM and Ford but because of their better balanced product portfolio, due to their new fuel-efficient models, they were able to weather the storm with no major damage,” continued Toprak.
Analysts at Edmunds.com said earlier this month that compact cars are disappearing from lots ‘at a pace not seen since the gasoline-price run-up in the summer of 2008’.
“The numbers show what likely is the start of thinning vehicle inventories predicted for the coming months,” said Edmunds.com Senior Analyst Bill Visnic.
Edmund’s put May’s cumulative sale pace so far at a SAAR of 12.8m.
