U.S. Car Sales Declined 10.7% in Mid-August
DETROIT -- Sales of domestic cars dropped into low gear in mid-August, indicating that the auto industry's economic recovery is proceeding at only a halting pace.</br></br>The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate of North American-made cars dropped to 6.1 million vehicles in the Aug. 11-20 period, down from a 6.5 million pace in the previous month. During the mid-August period last year, cars sold at a seven million-vehicle rate. The slump came despite increased discounts on outgoing 1991 models and even some newly launched 1992 cars.</br></br>"Consumers are still concerned about lagging incomes, the stubbornly high unemployment rate and the increases in state and local taxes -- all of which have acted to diminish consumers' ability to make purchases," said Richard Curtin, who measures consumer confidence at the University of Michigan.</br></br>Still, Mr. Curtin and other experts agreed that the U.S. economy is in a slow recovery. The weak sales of the period don't necessarily foreshadow a slide back into recession, Mr. Curtin said. "We see them as a signal that confirms our expectation of a sluggish recovery."</br></br>In all, the 10 U.S. auto makers sold 143,480 domestically built cars in mid-August, a 10.7% decline from a year ago. Sales of U.S.-built trucks dropped 10.6% from a year ago to 90,032 vehicles.