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Article: Outlook for the North American auto industry.
- Article from:
- Business Economics
- Article date:
- October 1, 1994
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1994 The National Association for Business Economists. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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SALES OF CARS and trucks in the U.S. account for about 90 percent of the North American auto market. The Canadian market is not quite 10 percent the size of the U.S. Mexico's auto market is just over one-third of Canada's. Because of its dominance, the U.S. market will be discussed at greater length than the other two.
U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY FUNDAMENTALS
Understanding the past, present, and future of the auto industry begins with analysis of the fundamental demand for cars and trucks, i.e., the sales trend.
During the 1960s and early 1970s, U.S. auto industry sales trended upward at the rate of 4 percent per year. The first oil shock caused a dislocation ...