US light-vehicle sales surprise, increase in May

US light-vehicle (LV) sales rose to an unadjusted 1.43 million units in May, up 4.8% vs. year-ago levels, the US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) reported. The year-on-year (y/y) growth in domestic LV sales came in with a 7.6% month-on-month (m/m) boost.

On an annualized basis, LV sales were 15.9 million units in May, up from 15.8 million units the month prior, and ahead of the consensus forecast, which called for a sideways move at 15.8 million units.

David Schollaert

David Schollaert is deputy editor-in-chief for Steel Market Update. David joined SMU after more than a decade in the metals and mining industry in a myriad of different roles. Much of his early experience and expertise were within the coverage and analysis of steel-making raw materials and served previously as senior editor of the CRU Prices Service. Most recently, however, before his return to market analysis, David held roles as a metals buyer and an operations manager for raw material suppliers. He can be contacted at david@steelmarketupdate.com or 724-720-1008.