Analysis
May 6, 2021
North American Auto Assemblies Gain Ground in March
Written by David Schollaert
Auto assemblies in North America gained ground in March for the first time since October, according to LMC Automotive (LMCA). North American production rose to 1.217 million units in March, up from 1.092 million in February, but production continues to suffer from the ongoing shortage of semiconductor chips. North American production was up 20.1% in March compared to year-ago levels when the pandemic was beginning to slow the economy. The annual production rate in March was 14.6 million units, up from 13.1 million units the month prior.
While the U.S. market continues to work through the effects of the pandemic, chip shortages and supply chain disruptions that have tightened vehicle inventories, the selling rate for U.S. light vehicles reached 18.0 million units per year, up from 15.8 million units in February. This was also the highest ever selling rate for the month of March, according to LMCA. Canada’s light vehicle sales totaled 172,000 units, up by 76.2% compare to year-ago sales. Canada’s selling rate was 1.9 million units per year in March, up slightly from February. Meanwhile, the Mexican market grew by 9.2% year on year in March, to 95,000 units sold, while the annualized selling rate was 1.1 million units. For comparison, Figure 1 shows U.S. sales and North American production.
