Steel Markets
September 7, 2017
Harvey Hits Auto Sales in August
Written by Sandy Williams
U.S. automakers sold 1.48 million vehicles in August, a 1.9 percent drop from a year ago. A portion of that decline was the loss of an estimated 20,000 sales from the Houston area during the last week of August.
Houston is the ninth-largest vehicle market in the U.S., and sales are expected to rebound as consumers replace autos damaged in Hurricane Harvey. Kelly Blue Book estimates as many as 300,000 to 400,000 vehicles will need to be replaced. Some dealerships in the Houston area escaped damage, while others report total loss of inventory.
