Supply Chain Research

U.S. auto sales fell 2.1% year over year in January, making for the worst monthly sales figure since Jan. 2014. Sales of foreign-built vehicles did worse than domestic with a 4.9% decline. Overseas manufacturers appear to expect a further decline with U.S. seaborne imports of cars and light trucks down 11.1% year over year in January. That was led by a 21.1% drop from Toyota. By contrast Honda and Hyundai’s imports rose 7.8% and 5.8% respectively, suggesting they are more optimistic. The next challenge awaiting the industry is the Trump administration’s section 232 review of the industry...