In the US, the automotive sector is the biggest manufacturing industry. It accounts for 3% of the country’s total GDP. Car sales stats in the US even reveal that a large portion of total consumer spending is attained from automobile sales. It is the primary indicator of a country’s annual economic growth.
The automotive sector experiences some fixed seasonal trends. In spring and fall the demand for the car is high, while in January, February, and first week of March the sales decline. During the winter months, car dealers find it difficult to sell their inventory because consumers are less inspired to go car shopping in freezing cold.
Just like changes in car purchasing trends, you can experience ups and downs in the average costs of shipping cars. People migrate from point A to B for multiple reasons like job transfer, moving to college, migrating to a beach state, military moving, and more. Ship a Car, Inc. is the top and well-established auto transport company serving customers from all across the US.
During spring when the weather is nice and people gain tax refunds, they feel stimulated to spend. Another seasonal trend happens during the fall when manufacturers introduce new models in the market. Now, the trend to introduce new cars in the fall has changed. Companies started releasing new editions all around the year. It is an attempt to increase car sales in the slow months.
New & pre-owned cars
Auto sales comprise of new and pre-owned vehicles. Both experience the same seasonal fluctuations in terms of sales volume. Generally, car sales drop a lot from January to early March. During holiday seasons, consumers spend more than 70% of their disposable income elsewhere. This contributes to slowing down auto sales volume.
The auto sector has started posting high December sales and changing the seasonal trend. Auto dealers offer aggressive discounted deals in December to move inventory out of their showrooms. For auto dealers, DSI [Day Sales of Inventory] is a crucial metric. They hate to see numbers more than 60 on DSI.
In January and February, there is a seasonal surge for the 4X4 sport utility vehicles because of the approaching winter.
During spring from March to May, auto sales increase, and its price escalate by 10% – 15%. From September to November, the fall seasonal upswing is due to auto manufacturers’ traditional practice of launching new models. After the peak in November and entering December, the auto sales tend to dramatically decline as January starts.
Due to COVID 19 pandemic, auto sales reported a collapse of 13.2% in comparison to 2020. However, 2021 started positively and the first quarter showed a 13.8% increase in comparison to 2019. In quarter 2nd it reported an increase of 46.9% in comparison to the extremely low volumes in 2020. In 2021, the United States automobile market will reach $82.6 billion. The Major automobile manufacturers in the US dominating the automobile market consistently are FCAU [Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Ford Motor Company, and General Motors. Their major competitors are Hyundai, Toyota, and Honda.
