September 23, 2009
Comerica sees rebound for U.S. auto sales in 2010
U.S. auto sales may backslide in the fourth quarter of 2009, but the seasonally adjusted annual sales rate should slowly recover throughout 2010, according to Dana Johnson, chief economist for Comerica Bank, reports bnet.com. Next year, U.S. auto sales should top 13 million cars and trucks, Johnson said in an analysis for investors earlier this week, recapping the last year since financial markets collapsed. “Looking ahead, improving credit availability likely will support a stronger rebound than the consensus is now forecasting. To be sure, spending vast amounts of money to rescue our financial institutions has been hugely unpopular. But, in fact, it has been money well spent,” he said. The credit crisis last fall turned what was already a sharp downturn in U.S. auto sales, driven by high gas prices, into a disaster that drove Chrysler and General Motors into bankruptcy. Separately, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech at the Brookings Institution last week that the U.S. recession is “very likely over,” but Bernanke said it may not feel that way to consumers for a while, because the recovery will be slow.
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