by Calculated Risk on 11/01/2016 02:30:00 PM

Based on a preliminary estimate from WardsAuto (estimate for Ford), light vehicle sales were at a 17.9 million SAAR in October.

That is down about slightly from October 2015, and up 1.3% from the 17.65 million annual sales rate last month.

From Erin Sunde at WardsAuto October 2016 U.S. LV Sales Thread: Automakers Hit 17.9 Million SAAR

U.S. automakers delivered 1.36 million light vehicles last month, resulting in 17.90 million SAAR, the highest SAAR of any month this year. The daily sales rate of 52,458 over 26 selling days was 15-year high for the month, beating prior-year by 1.5% (28 days).
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Ford postponed reporting due to a fire at its headquarters.

Click on graph for larger image.

This graph shows the historical light vehicle sales from the BEA (blue) and an estimate for October (red, light vehicle sales of 17.90 million SAAR from WardsAuto).

This was above the consensus forecast of 17.7 million SAAR (seasonally adjusted annual rate) and the best sales month for 2016.

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

Note: dashed line is current estimated sales rate.

Sales for 2016 - through the first ten months - are up slightly from the comparable period last year.

After increasing significantly for several years following the financial crisis, auto sales are now moving mostly sideways ...