by PJ on 9/02/2008 03:20:00 PM

From Fitch Ratings:

Fitch Ratings' prime and subprime U.S. auto asset-backed security (ABS) performance indexes produced higher delinquency and annualized net losses (ANL) in July...

In July, ANL on prime auto ABS hit the highest level for the year at 1.42%, increasing 15% over June's level. ANL in July were 94% higher than in July 2007. The last time ANL were at this level was in late 2003/early 2004 ...

In the subprime sector, ANL were at 6.56% in July, a 16.5% increase over June, and 45% above a year earlier. Subprime delinquencies rose 11% in July to 3.63%. Delinquencies were 30% higher in July versus the same period in 2007.

While the wholesale vehicle market did show signs of stabilization in July, Fitch remains unconvinced that the market will improve structurally in the short term. The wholesale vehicle market remains soft with considerable weakness in the truck and sports utility segments, along with lower recovery rates in the luxury vehicle space ....

Something that's been discussed in a few closed circles, but not really brought to light, is how little the ABS market is moving these days. A look at the publicly-available stats from Asset-Backed Alert gives a great indication of where the market is headed.

And with prime ABS losses mounting for autos, that sound you hear is likely a few more economists jumping off the fence on their recession calls.