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Highlights
Sales of North American made light vehicles jumped to an 8.3 million annual unit rate in July for a more than 15 percent rise from June. The jump of course is tied to the cash-for-clunkers program where discounted prices however will cut in a bit to the month-to-month jump. Still, even a 10 percent rise in dollar sales would point to a $5 billion month-to-month increase for the motor vehicle & parts component of next week's retail sales report, a gain that would more than offset the month's comparatively unfavorable seasonal adjustments. For U.S. lawmakers who are considering extending the program, the results are clouded by continued weakness at GM and the month's exceptional gains for Japanese names including Toyota, Mazda, Nissan, and Honda. These names of course not only produce vehicles in North America but also sell vehicles made in Japan, gains for which slightly exceeded those on the domestic side. But the program did help Chrysler which showed major month-to-month gains as well as Ford which posted its first year-on-year gain in two years.
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