U.S. vehicle inventory stuck at 1.1 million

Inventory stagnated for a sixth consecutive month in June at 1.1 million vehicles, as auto makers were unable to boost production despite a slower sales rate, according to estimates by Cox Automotive and the Automotive News Research & Data Center.

Cox said the 1.1 million vehicles represented a 37-day supply under its practice of using the selling rate from the most recent 30-day period, which the company noted was off 35 percent from a year earlier.

It said inventory was about 160,000 vehicles fewer than the same period in 2021 and 1.5 million vehicles below where the industry stood in June 2020.

Inventory crossed back above 1 million vehicles in January, but it has fluctuated between there and 1.13 million for the last six months.

Record-high fuel prices could be having a measurable impact on inventory. Cox noted that hybrid models had the lowest inventory levels, while the segments with the highest were luxury and larger cars, as well as nonluxury SUVs and domestic full-size pickups.

Among mass-market auto makers, Stellantis had the highest days' supply, while Asian auto makers continued to operate with the industry's most constricted supplies. Jack Hollis, head of sales for Toyota Motor North America, said Toyota-brand dealers began July with just 1.5 days' supply of vehicles on their lots, with more than two weeks' worth of additional vehicles awaiting delivery to dealers.