End Market Tracker & Forecaster
| Average Annual % Change |
| |
10 Years |
5 Years |
3 Years |
| Motor Vehicles |
0.0 |
-1.2 |
-0.9 |
| Autos |
-3.7 |
-4.7 |
-4.7 |
| Light Trucks |
3.1 |
1.2 |
1.2 |
Motor Vehicles
Return to Injection Molding Business Index
 The Vehicle Plastics Index dropped 14% in the latest month when compared with the same month from a year earlier. This followed a decline of 4% in the previous month.
The annual total for our Vehicle Plastics Index is expected to decline 2% in 2008 following a drop of 7% in 2007.
 The graphs for both U.S. auto assemblies and our Vehicle Plastics Index will hit their cyclical bottoms in the first half of 2008. The industry will struggle for another quarter or two, and it will then regain some momentum in 2009.
In March, total U.S. motor vehicle assemblies plummeted by 24% when compared with the same month a year earlier. This followed a 1% decrease in the previous month
The total number of motor vehicle assemblies in the U.S. will decline by 3% in 2008 after a drop of almost 5% in 2007.
| Motor Vehicles Data |
| |
| Latest |
Previous |
Year |
YTD% |
Annual % Change |
| |
Month |
Month |
Ago |
Change |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Vehicle Plastics Index (2) 2004=100 |
79.1 |
78.4 |
92.3 |
-7.4 |
-7.4 |
-7.4 |
-2.0 |
| - Plastic Gas Tanks (2) 2004=100 |
77.6 |
77.4 |
89.1 |
-6.4
|
-10.2
|
2.6 |
0.0 |
| Auto Dealer Sales (1), billions of $ SA |
69.0 |
68.8 |
71.5 |
-2.8 |
1.4 |
2.6 |
2.0 |
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
Millions of Units Annual Rate |
|
| |
| Latest |
Previous |
Year |
YTD% |
Annual % Change |
| |
Month |
Month |
Ago |
Change |
2006 |
2007 |
2008 |
| Motor Vehicle Assemblies - Total (1) |
9.3 |
10.8 |
12.2 |
-9.7 |
-5.7 |
-4.5 |
-3.0 |
| Auto Assemblies (1) |
4.0 |
4.1 |
4.3 |
-2.1 |
1.1 |
-10.1 |
0.0 |
| Light Truck Assemblies (1) |
5.0 |
6.4 |
7.5 |
-13.3 |
-10.7 |
1.8 |
-5.0 |
(1) Latest Data = March 2008
(2) Latest Data = March 2008 |
Data Sources: Federal Reserve Board, U.S. Commerce Dept., Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc.
Forecasts:
Mountaintop Economics & Research, Inc.
|
