Increasing production levels have allowed inventory to rise about 130,000 vehicles from where it was at the beginning of December, when dealers had a 75-day supply, but stocks still remain about 590,000 vehicles below where they were at the same point a year ago, Cox says, when dealers had an 85-day supply.
While many automakers no longer report inventory data, among those that do, Subaru had the tightest supply at 29 days, while Toyota Motor North America had a 35-day supply. At 71 days, Honda was the only self-reporting automaker with a supply above 60 days, a level historically considered an industry norm.
Cox warned in a note that inventories could shrink again as an ongoing shortage of computer processing chips continues to disrupt automakers’ production schedules.
