LITTLE ROCK — Arkansas new-vehicle registrations jumped 23 percent in September, the 12th consecutive month that they have improved compared with the same month of the previous year, a Kentucky research firm says.
There were 6,617 new vehicles titled in September, compared with 5,395 a year earlier, according to Cross-Sell of Lexington, Ky.
The continued growth is contrary to opinions that consumers give about the economy, said Kathy Deck, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville.
“Retail sales, including new-car sales, continue to rise even as consumer confidence is at extraordinarily low levels,” Deck said. “Consumers’ confidence is very, very pessimistic. They may be feeling bad, but their spending habits aren’t showing it.”
Consumer confidence slumped to a 30-month low this month. The New York based Conference Board’s consumer confidence index was at 39.8, the lowest since March 2009 when the recession was still in full force.
Some potential buyers were stalled by the recession, which officially lasted from December 2007 until June 2009, “but auto sales are going forward at this point,” said Michael Pakko, chief economist at the Institute for Economic Advancement at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock.
Nationally, new-vehicle sales climbed 10 percent in September compared with a year earlier. Nearly 54 percent of vehicles sold were pickups and sport utility vehicles.
In Arkansas, almost 51 percent of vehicles registered in September were pickups and SUVs. Midsize and compact cars accounted for 21 percent of the vehicles titled in Arkansas last month.
There were 10,512 used vehicles registered last month, up about 6 percent from 9,948 used vehicles titled by dealers in September 2010. There were 18,655 used vehicles titled in private-party transactions last month, down about 1 percent from 18,803 registered in September of last year.
Used-vehicle registrations are not growing as fast as are new-vehicle registrations.
“The used-car market has been hollowed out with recent events, such as ‘cash for clunkers,’” Pakko said. “And the price of used cars is up from where [it] used to be.”
Pakko expects automobile sales to continue to improve,unless the economy slides into another recession.
“I think it is more likely that the rest of the economy will catch up with the [success of the] new-car market,” Pakko said.
In Arkansas, automobile registrations don’t match vehicle sales each month. Buyers have 30 days to register vehicles. So, September registrations account for most sales made in August. The number of automobile sales in Arkansas each month is not available from state agencies.
Business, Pages 25 on 10/27/2011