What's the story here?

US vehicle sales

US auto sales fell to 3.01m in August in a drop from 3.43m the month before, according to the Dept of Commerce.

The bad news is that it's about to get worse. GM today announced that it would cut production at eight North American assembly plants due to the semiconductor shortage.

If you've been to an auto lot lately, this chart will resonate.

US auto inventories

By most accounts, consumer demand remains high and pricing is also high. J.D. Power forecasts average transaction prices will rise 16% this year to $41,378.

However, one very famous tech investor has another theory

Cathie wood tweet

That's the kind of insight that gets you $25B AUM.

Meanwhile, here is Christophe Barraud, someone who knows what they're talking about.

The sharp decline of new auto sales will affect next retail sales report that will be released on Sep. 16th. In the meantime, industrial production for August (Sep. 15th) would probably suffer from another drop in "Motor vehicles and parts" production in a context where Hurricane Ida made significant damages.