Cox Automotive lowers its forecast for the August SAAR to 16.3 m
Harvey to dent U.S. August sales as key regions in No. 2 market reel
Tuesday August 29, 2017
Article Highlights
- Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive, estimates 20,000 to 40,000 new vehicle sales could be delayed in Texas following the storm.
- Cox Automotive lowered its forecast for the August SAAR to 16.3 million from 16.6 million as a result of the hurricane and its aftermath.
- Smoke said Cox is still reviewing how the storm will affect overall U.S. sales in 2017 but said "initial estimates indicate a potential net improvement on full-year sales once replacement sales gain speed." U.S. light-vehicle sales are down 2.9 percent through July this year.
With dealerships flooded and closed, and thousands of consumers homeless, Harvey is expected to dent U.S. light-vehicle sales for August and will likely dampen industry deliveries into next month, analysts say.
But many of the lost sales will be recouped down the road as the region recovers and some vehicles will be replaced, analysts say. …
Forecasts from LMC Automotive, Edmunds and Kelley Blue Book called for light-vehicle sales to rise about 1 percent from August 2016. That would be the first increase since December, though it’s more a reflection of August having one more selling day this year than an increase in demand.