by Calculated Risk on 6/01/2012 03:28:00 PM

Based on an estimate from Autodata Corp, light vehicle sales were at a 13.78 million SAAR in May. That is up 17.9% from May 2011, and down 4.1% from the sales rate last month (14.37 million SAAR in April 2012).

This was below the consensus forecast of 14.5 million SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate).

This graph shows the historical light vehicle sales from the BEA (blue) and an estimate for May (red, light vehicle sales of 13.78 million SAAR from Autodata Corp).

Click on graph for larger image.

This was the weakest month this year. The year-over-year increase was large because of the impact of the tsuanmi and related supply chain issues in May 2011.

Sales have averaged a 14.43 million annual sales rate through the first five months of 2012, up sharply from the same period of 2011.

The second graph shows light vehicle sales since the BEA started keeping data in 1967.

Note: dashed line is current estimated sales rate.

This shows the huge collapse in sales in the 2007 recession.

All current Retail Graphs

Earlier employment posts:
• May Employment Report: 69,000 Jobs, 8.2% Unemployment Rate
• May Employment Summary and Discussion
• Employment Graphs