U.S. dealer lots have been dramatically low on inventory all summer. Pictured is a Ford dealership near Ann Arbor, Mich., from earlier this summer. U.

Cox expects Sept. sales volume to fall to lowest since Great Recession

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2021-09-27 15:30:11

U.S. dealer lots have been dramatically low on inventory all summer. Pictured is a Ford dealership near Ann Arbor, Mich., from earlier this summer.

U.S. light-vehicle sales volume this month will fall to its lowest level since the Great Recession as the ongoing global microchip shortage continues to deplete inventory, according to a forecast by Cox Automotive.

Cox predicts that sales volume will drop to 1 million units in September, down 26 percent from a year earlier. The last time September volume fell below 1 million was in 2009. There have only been three months of below 1 million volume in the past decade, according to Cox.

Many U.S. automakers plan to report September and third-quarter light-vehicle sales on Friday, as they continue to idle plants intermittently to redirect chips. Ford Motor Co. reports on Monday, Oct. 4, and Daimler reports later next week.

AutoForecast Solutions estimates the global auto industry has lost 8.9 million vehicles from production plans because of the chip crisis, including 2.9 million in North America.