Aug. 28, 2015—Monthly auto sales are expected to drop in August for the first time in 19 months, according to a report by Automotive News. Analysts say that this is caused by a later-than-usual Labor Day rather than lack of demand from consumers.
The industry’s biggest holiday weekend will count toward September’s results this time around, whereas it has been a part of August sales for the past three year. Last year, 20 percent of August sales occurred over the three-day holiday weekend, according to J.D. Power.
“There certainly is no cause for alarm,” John Humphrey, senior vice president of J.D. Power’s global automotive practice, said in a statement according to the report. “Our expectation is that with Labor Day falling in September, sales that would have occurred this month are being pushed into next month. If that happens, September will move sales back to the strong trend that we’ve been seeing throughout the year.”
August sales may also have suffered because of several rough days for the stock market this week.
In addition to missing Labor Day, August also has one fewer selling day than a year ago. SAAR forecasts for this month range from 17.2 million to 17.4 million, according to Bunkley’s report.
