Auto makers are reporting a soar in U.S. automobile gross sales within the opening months of 2021, boosted by continued client demand and a few simpler year-ago comparisons, however chip shortages and different supply-chain snags threaten to derail that momentum.
General, analysts forecast U.S. auto gross sales will rise roughly 8% for the three-month interval, and the {industry}’s annualized promoting tempo in March may hit 16.5 million automobiles, an indication that the extent of demand is about on par with what it was earlier than the Covid-19 pandemic.
The rise is partly being pushed by the collapse in enterprise on the finish of March 2020, when the financial system started to close right down to restrict the unfold of the coronavirus.
Auto-industry gross sales in January and February have been nonetheless off 3.3% and 13%, respectively, in accordance with automotive-data agency Motor Intelligence. March gross sales, nonetheless, are anticipated to leap, with automobile corporations posting double-digit good points for the month in contrast with a yr earlier, {industry} forecasts present.
For the U.S. automobile enterprise, it has been a uneven begin to the yr. A worldwide scarcity of semiconductors has disrupted manufacturing at many U.S. factories, hitting car-company earnings and leaving dealerships with decrease stock, significantly on standard vehicles and sport-utility automobiles. Then, in February, winter storms in Texas additional disrupted the manufacturing of plastics utilized in seat foam and different supplies, including to the {industry}’s supply-chain woes.
