New vehicle inventory sees decline

For the first time in two years, dealer inventory of new vehicles saw a decline.

Cloud Theory, a provider of real-time automotive data insights for manufacturers, agencies and affiliates, reported a decrease for August. This marks the first pullback — excluding typical seasonal declines from December to January — that the industry has seen in two years.

The report also highlights a range-bound demand picture, with diagnostic numbers indicating that turn rates have remained steady in the mid-to-high 30s for the past seven months. Average marketed pricing has held steady for three consecutive months, but market adjustments, which measure consumer-visible discounts and incentives, continue to increase.

“Our numbers have been pointing to a slowdown in supply growth, and it was inevitable that the industry would eventually reach a ceiling,” said Rick Wainschel, vice president of data science and analytics at Cloud Theory. “