U.S. Light Vehicle Sales 11.8 million SAAR in May

MARKHAM, Ont. — Four Japanese automakers including Toyota Motor Corp, and Nissan Motor Co are recalling 3.4 million vehicles sold around the world because airbags supplied by Takata Corp are at risk of catching fire or injuring passengers. Honda is recalling 1.1 million vehicles, including more than 107,000 in Canada, and Toyota is recalling 1.7 million vehicles, including some 580,000 in North America.

(DETROIT) — Toyota has once again dethroned General Motors as the world’s top-selling automaker. The Japanese company sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide in 2012, although it’s still counting. GM sold 9.29 million. Both companies saw higher sales, but Toyota’s growth was far larger as it rolled out new versions of popular models like the Camry. GM executives promised sales growth this year, especially in the U.S. Both companies say publicly that they don’t care about who wins, but concede that the crown is an important morale booster for employees.

(DETROIT) — Toyota has once again dethroned General Motors as the world’s top-selling automaker. The Japanese company sold 9.7 million cars and trucks worldwide in 2012, although it’s still counting. GM sold 9.29 million. Both companies saw higher sales, but Toyota’s growth was far larger as it rolled out new versions of popular models like the Camry. GM executives promised sales growth this year, especially in the U.S. Both companies say publicly that they don’t care about who wins, but concede that the crown is an important morale booster for employees.

We expected to see a series of weak economic reports last week - falling house prices, weak auto sales, lower ISM manufacturing index, and a weak labor report - and unfortunately that is exactly what happened.The employment situation report was very disappointing. There were few jobs created (only 54,000 total and 83,000 private sector), and the unemployment rate increased from 9.0% to 9.1%, even though the participation rate was unchanged at 64.2%.

From MarketWatch: General Motors U.S. May sales fall 1.2%[GM] said Wednesday that May U.S. car sales fell 1.2% to 221,192 vehicles from 223,822 a year ago.The key number for the economy is the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate (SAAR) compared to the last few months, not the year-over-year comparison provided by the automakers. Once all the reports are released, I'll post a graph of the estimated total May light vehicle sales (SAAR) - usually around 4 PM ET.

Tomorrow the BLS will release the May Employment Situation Summary at 8:30 AM ET. As I noted in the weekly schedule, the consensus forecast for payroll jobs seems too high; Bloomberg is showing the consensus is for an increase of 190,000 payroll jobs in May, and for the unemployment rate to decline to 8.9%.

Ford, General Motors, Toyota , and Honda each experienced December sales declines of more than 30 percent, but it wasn't for a lack of trying.