Auto Sales Contract as Demand Stalls for Trucks and S.U.V.s

[workinclasszero]

Auto Sales Contract as Demand Stalls for Trucks and S.U.V.s
By NEAL E. BOUDETTEAUG. 1, 2017

In the automakers’ monthly report on Tuesday, weaker-than-expected sales of trucks helped the industry reach its steepest overall decline so far this year — 7 percent from the previous July, to 1.4 million cars and light trucks. That follows a 2.9 percent fall in June, and tops the 4.7 percent drop the industry sustained in April.

An acceleration in the auto-sales slowdown could have important political and economic effects. The auto industry is the country’s largest manufacturing sector, and automakers, parts suppliers and dealers together employ more than seven million people. President Trump had hoped the car industry would serve as a job creator as his administration took office. That now seems unlikely because manufacturers are trimming production as sales slump.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/01/business/auto-sales-suvs.html

[Moostache]

1. Why are they always apparently surprised by this?

Auto sales are durable goods...they do not automatically need annual replacement, or in many cases replacement for 5+ years minimum. There are not going to be infinite growth in the number of automobiles sold year over year and if one year is really high, then OF COURSE the next year is doomed to be "lower"...

I abhor this kind of "non-story story" that is just nothing more than reporting on the inevitable as if it were an actual mystery...the problems we face in manufacturing are not solely based on the number of people buying new cars or trucks...it is far more complicated than that and we do great harm by obsessing on the minutiae and ignoring the root causes...

As long as people continue to see wages and earnings lag productivity (as they have for 40 years now) then the overall health of the economy is gong to remain sickly...but at a more fundamental level than even THAT truth...infinite growth in a finite planetary system is physically impossible. Our entire economic "reality", capitalism at the core and unabated wealth concentration at the center of it all, is a sham, an impossibility...a crime against humanity in the worst ways imaginable.

Without a shift from "profits" and "quarterly gains or losses" as the be-all and end-all of life, the species is doomed and life on Earth will fall to a few % of surviving species, none of which will be larger than a hamster. The major issues are NEVER discussed, NEVER debated and NEVER understood as the threats to existence that they truly are. Once more, to the future generations screaming "WHY DIDN'T YOU ACT????", I am sorry. My voice and my concerns have been drowned out by greed, capriciousness and hate. I'm hoarse and tired and beat down, but I will keep trying to be heard more clearly...these obsessive stories about sales growth and profit %'s are whistling past the graveyard of human society, yet no one will hear that...yet(?)

[workinclasszero]

2. Call me crazy but it might have something to do with this....

That shiny new car is out of reach for many Americans
Only the Washington, D.C., metro area has median income high enough to afford the average new-car price.
In six of the 25 largest U.S. metro areas, median-income households can afford less than half the average new-car price.
Sarah O'BrienMonday, 3 Jul 2017 | 8:23 AM ET

As wages stagnate and the cost of living continues to rise, paying for a new car is a challenge for consumers, according to a new study.

The report by Bankrate.com shows that in all but one of the 25 largest U.S. metro areas, households with median incomes cannot afford the average price of a new car. In six of the surveyed areas, they can afford less than half the amount.

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/06/28/that-shiny-new-car-is-out-of-reach-for-many-americans.html

[Moostache]

3. That kind of aligns with my thoughts on productivity and wages...

There is a hideous gap between productivity and wages and their distribution since 1975, but the impact of industrialized capitalism on the climate and the earth's ecosystems is far more pressing. I am by no means "rich" but by any definition I am "well-off" and certainly better off than many I know, but the price of a new car is out of my reach unless I want to live irresponsibly and beyond my means, so THAT is a real economic issue. But the central problem is still going to be climate disruption in the next 20-50 years and the horrors that await those born in this century.

A few years back, when "peak oil" was the raging concern in some corners, I opined that the lack of oil would be less of a threat than the climate change it was unleashing and the long term consequences of what has already been done. I claim no clairvoyance or special abilities, but that part is coming true in spades...with fracking and advanced drilling, the oil spigot is not slowing or peaking or declining at all...but the impacts to the environment and the feedback loops being unleashed are going to kill us all if we do not adapt soon and radically. The amount of warming already baked in (bad pun) is enough to kill most wild animal species larger than a housecat by 2120.

I just do not see the will to make change happen and I pray I am wrong, but I am daily reminded the situation of greatest threat is that of lowest discussion and consideration.

[workinclasszero]

5. I think you are totally right about wages. No doubt about it.

And even as we speak republicans across america are forcing down wages even more.



Missouri Republicans Lower St. Louis Minimum Wage From $10 To $7.70
Take that, local decision-making.
By Dave Jamieson 07/03/2017 01:52 pm ET

If you thought the minimum wage only moved in one direction, then Missouri Republicans have a surprise for you.

After St. Louis leaders raised the wage floor for workers within city limits, the state GOP recently passed what’s known as a statewide “preemption” law, forbidding localities from taking such matters into their own hands. On Friday, Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens (R) said he would let the law go into effect, thereby barring cities and counties from setting a minimum wage higher than the state level.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/st-louis-minimum-wage_us_595a69bae4b0da2c7324d725

[TheBlackAdder]

4. THIS

[Wellstone ruled]

6. Couple of other factors working at this time.

First is the Auto of today lasts longer do to better Engineering that was demanded by the buying public. And of course,price point. With Trump the lair in chief,one of the largest segment of the buying public has left the market. All one has to do is,look around when you do your weekly or by weekly shopping. Who is buying and what are they buying,and that segment is the Latino and African American Communities. They are just plain scared to death at what is happening and the Racial Crap that they are enduring.

Second thing that is hurting the new car sales is this. Last year the Junker rate of Autos was the lowest in recent decades. Better built Autos,as well as a contraction in certain Consumer Group purchases as I mentioned before. These are issues that need to be recognized for what they are. When GM is dropping 7 models for 2018 and Ford is dropping a couple of their models,much needed adjustments need to be made. Of course our Liar in Chief will only screw this up royally.

This trend will continue until Trump and Pence are removed from the World Stage.