Inventory levels rose slightly in the middle of October before strong end-of-month demand and continuing production disruptions pulled them back down to near-record lows, according to data from Cox Automotive as well as other industry sources.
Cox put the October inventory figure at about 970,000 vehicles, or a 34-day supply at mid-month — a slight recovery from the 915,000 inventory level a month earlier, which was the lowest in decades.
However, with demand still running several million vehicles ahead of supply across the industry, the added vehicles translated into stronger sales — again dropping unsold stocks down closer to 920,000 to end the month, according to separate industry estimates shared with Automotive News.