Steel Markets
April 23, 2017
US Vehicle Sales and NAFTA Vehicle Production through March 2017
Written by Peter Wright
US vehicle sales averaged 17.3 million units, SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) per month in the first quarter, down from 18.1 million in Q4 2016. March sales were much lower than expected with an annualized rate of 16.63 million units, down 0.3 percent year on year. Light-truck sales fell from 11 million annualized units in February to 10.3 million in March. Car sales fell from 6.5 million annualized units in February to 6.3 million in March.
Figure 1 shows auto and light truck sales since January 2004. Import market share at 21.4 percent in March has changed little in the last 18 months as shown in Figure 2.
