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Sunday, April 23, 2017

Vehicle Sales Forecast: Sales close to 17 Million SAAR in April

by Calculated Risk on 4/23/2017 01:01:00 PM

The automakers will report April vehicle sales on Tuesday, May 2nd.

Note: There were 26 selling days in April 2017, down from 27 in April 2016.

From WardsAuto: U.S. Forecast: Mild Sales, Growing Inventory

The report puts the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales for the month at 17.1 million units, well above last month’s 16.5 million, but below year-ago’s 17.3 million.

The monthly volume will be 3.1% below last year. Beyond one fewer selling day, Easter occurred in April this year, unlike 2016, possibly delaying sales for some shoppers in the second half of the month. ...

Sluggish sales in March left inventory levels high, with LV stock of 4.15 million units at month-end.  The forecasted April inventory level sits at 4.16 million units, resulting in a fourth straight month above the 4 million mark. The only time this previously happened was in 2004, when five consecutive months surpassed that level. emphasis added
Looks like a decent month for vehicle sales, but overall sales are mostly moving sideways.