LMC’s outlook for US Light Vehicle sales in 2021 has been upgraded again, to 16.0 million units, an increase of 11% from 2020. Retail sales are projected to grow by 9% and fleet by more than 20% from 2020. Click to Enlarge.
Blame the weather since US light vehicle sales dropped to 1.18 million in February, according LMC Automotive, an automotive global forecasting consultancy. The -3% Year-over-Y decline in LMC’s view was caused by two fewer selling days this year, as well as abnormally cold weather and winter storms across many key markets. Any way you look at it, the selling-day adjusted sales volume was still down by -5.5% YoY. The annualized rate dropped to 15.7 million units, down from 16.6 mn units in January.
Compact and mid-size SUVs performed better than large pickups. They were the two most popular segments, which appears the long-term trend with mid-size SUVs gaining 0.9 percentage points of share from February 2020. Only Compact Premium SUVs grew more, up by 1.2 pp, likely from new product launches. Not surprisingly, mid-size Cars lost 2.5 pp of share from a year ago, more than any other segment. Here LMC hedges, “although consumers have been moving away from cars, lower fleet volume also hurt the segment significantly. While six segments sold more than 100,000 units last February, only four reached the threshold this year – Compact SUV, Mid-size SUV, Large Pickup and Small SUV. Combined, they accounted for 57% of total sales.” Continue reading →
FAA Linking with Choctaw Nation to Study Low Altitude Cargo Delivery by Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Choctaw Nation was the first tribal government seen by the FAA as a Public Aircraft Operator.
The FAA’s Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center signed a three-year Memorandum of Understanding with the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma today. It is partnering with the Choctaw Nation to study how Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) can best transport cargo, including parcels, at lower altitudes. This allows the Monroney Aeronautical Center to work with the Choctaw Nation to study human factors, supply chain management and air traffic control.
The parties will use virtual simulated urban environments for research. Another aim of the MOU is to promote interest in science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs for students seeking possible careers in aerospace. Continue reading →