Economic Driver

Sales of new vehicles, typically,
Recede in recession terrifically,
'Til recovery beckons,
And that's when, we reckon,
They amplify upswings pro-cyclically.

Courtesy of FT Alphaville, we learn that auto sales have comprised 30% of GDP growth in the last two quarters of our tepid, ongoing recovery. Mining a gem from the research of Credit Suisse economists, Alphaville spotlights an interesting insight:

Motor vehicle output is less than 3% of GDP. But its standard deviation is more than nine times the overall GDP’s standard deviation. So in the world of growth rates, the auto sector will tend to punch well above its weight in expansions (and well below during recessions).

To all those who would worry that the surge in US auto sales is unsustainable, Alphaville points out that, as shown in the accompanying graph, the seasonally adjusted auto sales volume is still below the level of typical recessions such as that of 2001.