Sales of new motor vehicles are down slightly to a 15.323 million unit seasonally adjusted annual rate in November after 15.435 million units in October, but up compared to 14.271 million units in November 2022. The latest pace is below the consensus of 15.500 million units in the Econoday survey of forecasters.

Sales of domestically produced motor vehicles fell to 11.824 million units in November after 12.000 million units in October. Some of the dip in sales is likely related to UAW strikes that shut down production at the three big US motor vehicle producers. Higher financing costs do not appear to be a major factor in slower sales as sales of foreign produced motor vehicles are little changed at 3.499 million units in November after 3.435 million units in October.

Total sales of passenger cars are little changed at 2.981 million units in November after 3.038 million units in October. The same is true for sales of light trucks which include minivans, SUVs, and crossovers at 12.342 million units in November after 12.397 million units in October. The share of sales going to the light truck category maintained its dominance in November at 77 percent of all units sold, but is down a bit from 78 percent in October and 79 percent in November 2022. Some of this may simply be a lack of inventory in the light truck segment without new units coming on to dealer lots in November, and could change in December now that production is up again.

Sales in the heavy truck category are up to 540,000 units in November after falling to 475,000 units in October and are above 515,000 in November 2022. Business investment in equipment is uneven at present, but could be occurring where necessary.

Unit vehicle sales in November are expected to hold steady at a 15.5 million annual rate.

Unit sales of motor vehicles, published by the Bureau of Economic Analysis at the beginning of each month, include domestic sales and imports. Domestics are sales of autos produced in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico. Imports are U.S. sales of vehicles produced elsewhere. The data track all passenger cars and light trucks up to 14,000 pounds gross weight (including minivans and sport utility vehicles). Though totals include a relatively small portion sold to businesses, motor vehicle sales are good indicators of trends in consumer spending and often are considered a leading indicator at business cycle turning points.

Since motor vehicle sales are an important element of consumer spending, market players watch this closely to get a handle on the direction of the economy. The pattern of consumption spending is one of the foremost influences on stock and bond markets. Strong economic growth translates to healthy corporate profits and higher stock prices. The bond market focus is on whether economic growth goes overboard and leads to inflation. Ideally, the economy walks that fine line between strong growth and excessive (inflationary) growth. This balance was achieved through much of the nineties. For this reason alone, investors in the stock and bond markets enjoyed huge gains during the bull market of the 1990s.

Retail sales growth did slow down in tandem with the equity market during the 2001 recession but then, boosted by a low interest rate environment, rose sharply through 2007 before falling sharply during the Great Recession. Sales then recovered and, once again boosted by low rates, began a long period of steady and favorable growth.

In a more specific sense, auto and truck sales show market conditions for auto makers and the slew of auto-related companies. These figures can influence particular stock prices and provide insight to investment opportunities in this industry. Given that most consumers borrow money to buy cars or trucks, sales also reflect confidence in current and future economic conditions.