WASHINGTON, DC (July 6, 2021) — The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long issued the following statement after the Commerce Department released vehicle sales data for June:
“Vehicle sales took a big tumble in June – after months of concerns about supply and semiconductor shortages, the squeeze has finally come to pass,” said NAFCU Chief Economist and Vice President of Research Curt Long.
“With an economy in recovery, the macroeconomic factors exist for very strong sales, unfortunately supply is not cooperating. The May inventory number of 2.2 million vehicles is more than 60 per cent below the lowest inventory level before 2020, driving up prices and leaving consumers with fewer choices. Used vehicle prices are also skyrocketing, up 40 percent on the wholesale market in the past year. Though supply shortages may be at their bottom, it will take a while to ramp production back up. NAFCU expects tepid vehicle sales through the fall, almost fully dependent on the ability of manufacturers to build more cars.”
The National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions is the only national trade association focusing exclusively on federal issues affecting the nation’s federally-insured credit unions. NAFCU membership is direct and provides credit unions with the best in federal advocacy, education and compliance assistance. For more information on NAFCU, go to www.nafcu.org or @NAFCU on Twitter.
