The U.S. light-vehicle market slid again in June, capping a weaker second quarter as global parts shortages and shipping woes continue to hobble output at automakers, leaving showrooms largely empty of new cars and light trucks for a year now. Sales dropped 21 percent in the second quarter and 18 percent in the first half.
But there are signs the market is getting some traction.
The seasonally adjusted, annualized rate of sales tallied 13.22 million in June, Motor Intelligence said, near the bottom of the range of analysts' forecasts of 13 million to 13.8 million, and a modest rebound from May's 12.81 million rate, the lowest of the year so far.
Yet the June SAAR, the second lowest of the year now, was down sharply from June 2021's 15.43 million pace. The SAAR has topped 15 million only once -- in January at 15.23 million -- since June 2021.
Ford Motor Co., which racked up a gain of 32 percent in June, said the overall market dropped 11 percent during the month.
Sales jumped 31 percent at the Ford division and 41 percent at Lincoln. Ford division volume had decreased year over year for four straight months, and Lincoln ended a streak of 12 consecutive monthly declines year over year.
Ford, which outperformed the market in June and the second quarter, reported combined deliveries of the F-Series, Explorer and redesigned Expedition and Navigator SUVs represented just over 56 percent of the automaker's total sales last month. Even Ford's car deliveries, a weak spot in recent years with the discontinuation of multiple models, contributed marginally to the positive June tally, rising 62 percent to 4,651, with nearly all of those sales represented by the Mustang.
Consumer demand for new vehicles remains strong, Ford said, with the number of its retail sales coming from previously placed orders still at a record pace of about 50 percent in June.
Ford said it had a 51-day supply of vehicles at the close of June -- or 297,000 units, vs. 236,000 at the end of May and 162,000 at the end of June 2021 -- and nearly in line with the industry standard of 60 days.
Volume slid 15 percent to 578,507 in the second quarter at General Motors, but it was enough for the automaker to reclaim the U.S. sales crown from Toyota Motor Corp.
Deliveries dropped 11 percent at Chevrolet, 14 percent GMC, 56 percent at Buick and 6.7 percent at Cadillac in the April-June period. GM's U.S. sales have now declined four consecutive quarters, though volume has increased sequentially three straight quarters and it expects to gain market share for the third consecutive quarter.
The automaker, citing "strong" second-quarter production, said it ended June with 247,839 vehicles in U.S. dealer inventory, including cars and light trucks in transit to showrooms.