Auto Sales Contract as Demand Stalls for Trucks and S.U.V.s [View all]

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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