GM has a huge supply of unsold cars
U.S. consumers want vehicles built on light-truck bodies -- pickups, sport-utility
General Motors has had inventory problems since the middle of the fourth quarter of last year. The company's November inventory checked in with 87 days of supply, which dropped to 84 days in December, then jumped back to 87 in January before popping to 108 days of supply at the end of February. Automakers typically want to see inventory levels of 60 to 70 days.
According to a report Monday morning from Automotive News, GM's passenger car inventory started the month of March with a 123-day supply of passenger cars and an 81-day supply of light trucks. The Buick division posted a passenger car inventory of 239 days, about three times the 79 days of supply at the beginning of March 2016.
GM's inventory at the end of February totaled 900,681 cars and light trucks, up from 878,590 at the end of January. Ford had a March 1 inventory of 678,300, down 77,200 units compared with its inventory level at the end of January. Fiat Chrysler showed 578,800 units in inventory at the end of February, a drop of nearly 100,000 from the end of January.
Auto industry inventories at the end of February totaled 4.1 million units, up nearly 300,000
For the year to date, GM stock has added about 5.7%, slightly below the S&P 500 average of 6%. Ford shares are up about 3.4%, while Fiat Chrysler has posted a gain of nearly 20%.