by Calculated Risk on 8/31/2007 06:23:00 PM

From the WSJ: U.S. Auto Market Shows Signs Of Softening, Honda Official Says (hat tip jg)

The U.S. auto market is showing signs of softening ...

"The initial dealer pulse from across the industry is that mix is a little bit soft," said John Mendel, executive vice president auto operations for Honda motor Co.'s U.S. sales arm.

Mr. Mendel ... said Honda expects U.S. sales for 2007 will range between 15.9 million to 16.3 million light vehicles.

A Reuters article puts the Honda estimate at 16 million.

Auto makers sold 16.56 million vehicles in 2006.

Asha Bangalore at Northern Trust suggests (hat tip Steve):

The “timeliest indicators” we think are weekly initial jobless claims, August nonfarm payrolls, August retail sales, the August ISM manufacturing survey, and August industrial production. Each of these reports will be published prior to the September 18 FOMC meeting.

Click on graph for larger image.

Graph from Northern Trust. Note: Scale doesn't start at zero to change monthly changes.

And Bangalore on auto sales (due Tuesday):

The CEO of AutoNation has indicated that his company’s sales have been suffering. Auto sales have dropped during each of the seven months of the year. The sales tally for August will be published on September 4.