Forecast of the Economic Impact of Purchases of Vehicles & Parts by Pennsylvania Households, 2008

Abstract

Late 2008 finds the U.S. motor vehicle market troubled. According to an article published in The Economist, “North American vehicle sales are running at their lowest levels since the early 1980s, when the population contained 50 million fewer people.” The number of domestic and imported cars and light trucks sold in the United States posted a 34.5% decline between October 2007 and October 2008. Tight credit is estimated to have cost American car makers 20,000 vehicle sales in August 2008 alone that were worth $1 billion in revenue.