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Report: U.S. Car Sales Could Drop 10% Next Year

Auto analysts, pointing to five consecutive months of year-on-year shrinkage in the U.S. car market, are lowering their sales forecasts, Bloomberg News points out.
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Auto analysts, pointing to five consecutive months of year-on-year shrinkage in the U.S. car market, are lowering their sales forecasts, Bloomberg News points out.

Many analysts had expected the American market would eke out at least one more record high in 2017. But few feel that way now. Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas warns of an “unprecedented buyer’s strike” that could cut annual sales to 16.4 million next year from a downwardly revised 17.3 million in 2017.

Jonas previously predicted sales this year would reach 18.3 million. But annualized sales over the past three months have been below 17 million units. His revised analysis includes lower target share prices for 15 auto industry companies, including a 10% drop for Ford.

Jonas also notes that used-car prices are dropping as supplies rise. That puts pressure on new-car sales. One bright note: The rapid introduction of new technologies causes used cars to become obsolete more quickly, thereby pushing demand for new models.

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