January auto sales reports are coming out today, and the numbers are even worse than the low predictions. Chrysler and GM sales fell a whopping 55% and 49%, while Ford fell 40%, Toyota 32%, and Honda 28%. These sales levels are lower than in the mid-1980s, when our country’s population was ~25% below today.
The good news from such dramatic drops in purchases is that US consumers are trying to lower expenditures so they catch up on credit card bills and loan payments. And the resulting lower industry production will help keep energy prices low and emissions down in the short-term. But it will also make struggling companies have to cut more jobs, potentially spiraling people into higher debt due to smaller incomes. Sadly, our economy has gotten so dependent on hyper-consumption that we are suffering when people shift toward living within their means.
One place where consumption has not crashed is energy. Far different from the 20+% change in auto sales last year, the US consumed ~5.6% less oil, ~1.5% less natural gas, and ~.6% less coal. This year, energy consumption is expected to fall ~2%, consistent with the GDP dip. That leads me to see real promise in the new green energy revolution driving future economic recovery and job growth. We can design, manufacture, and install wind and solar power turbines and panels domestically to lower our purchase of expensive imports of oil and gas.
Even at the low $40 per barrel, oil costs the people of our country half a billion dollars per day ($40*12 million barrels per day). The more we can lower that cost and put our resources into retrofitting factories to lead a climate-friendly recovery, the more secure we make our families and communities to thrive in the decades ahead.
Onwards in the Sustainable Energy Transition-
Tags: 2009, dealerships, economy, US auto sales
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