Massive auto cargo ship burns

With car sales in the crapper because of the Virus some people must be thrilled. They probably wish it had sank.

 

One problem though.
Car sales are definitely not in the crapper because of the virus.
As a matter of fact it’s the exact opposite.
dealer lots are emptying out any there is no inventory to had at the auctions or OEM manufacturers to replenish with.
It’s pretty crazy to roll in to some of these auctions where I use to see thousands of cars and now big empty parking lots.

 

If auto sales were in the crapper GM Flint would not be working 6 days a week all 3 shifts. Chrysler JNAP and TNAP (Detroit and Toledo assembly plants) would not be working 6 days a week. GM Delta Township and Lansing Grand River both went from one shift to two shifts to meet demand.
Those are just the ones I know of by talking to drivers that go there daily.

 

You're seeing a lack of inventory because many automakers temporarily halted production earlier this year. This also affects the used car market - fewer vehicles being taken in on trade to stock the auctions.

The seasonally adjusted annual rate for the first quarter of 2020 is around 15.2 million vehicles sold in the United States, compared to the first quarter of 2019 where 17 million were sold.

 

I have a friend that works at GM Spring Hill, and he has been out of work for months. Just got called back.

 

Yep my buddy works overhead crane at GM in flint. He worked all weekend.

 

That's weird. I know some drivers delivering there for at least a couple months. Might have only been running 1 shift instead of whatever is normal there.

 

A month old now, but it was a quick search:

"New car sales are projected to reach about 1.18 million in July, a decline of 18% year over year. The seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) are forecast to drop by 16%, from 16.7 million units to 14.0 million units.

"As bad as the new figure sounds, the monthly decline is the smallest in five months. New light-vehicle sales dropped by 34% in March, 48% in April, 30% in May and 23% in June due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Used vehicle sales remain strong, according to TrueCar’s Nick Woolard, who said that company data showed that “11 percent of consumers who connected with dealers for pricing on a new vehicle ultimately purchas[ed] a used vehicle. This is up 31 percent versus July 2019.”"

I've noticed that the Ritchie Bros. auction lot near Longmont was fuller than ever last auction (on August 5th). Lots of tractors, trailers, heavy equipment. Lots and lots. There are a lot of businesses going under.

 

The story is on a roro type fire and we are talking about car sales? Must be the hijackers thread all over again.