Low U.S. Sales Rates Unlike Any in More Than a Decade, Global Insight Forecasts
October 08, 2008
Global Insight revised downward its U.S. auto sales forecast for 2008 yet again. It now predicts U.S. car and light truck sales will come in at about 13.6 million units this year.
"We are seeing sales rates we haven't seen since the late 1980s and early 1990s," said George Magliano, director of Global Insight's North American auto group.
Global Insight started the year expecting sales of 14 million to 14.5 million vehicles in 2008. The forecast was lowered to 13.8 million and, in light of September's dismal sales, was moved even lower.
Magliano said, during the forecasting firm's Web cast Wednesday, that when the industry recovers, it is likely to be a slow one. The firm has pushed that recovery off into the future further. Global Insight predicts 2009 U.S. auto sales will be even lower than 2008 at 13.4 million. The firm previously had predicted higher sales for 2009 of about 14.1 million, but that's when it had expected 2008 to be at 14 million.
Global Insight's Lowered Forecast
2008 13.6million from 14.0 million
2009 13.4 million from 14.1 million
Edmunds.com, parent of AutoObserver, also recently revised its forecast for 2008 and 2009. Jesse Toprak, Edmunds' executive director of industry analysis, now projects the U.S. auto industry will sell 13.9 million vehicles in 2008. For 2009, Toprak forecasts 13.7 million vehicles being sold.
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