• June 30, 2011

After a brisk start to auto sales in June, the third week of of the month suggests things are cooling off on dealership floors, per J.D. Power's Power Information Network polling 8,900 retail franchisees throughout the United States. The firm says expect annualized rate to come in at 9.8 million units for June, which is still half a million units better than last month.

Jeff Schuster, chief auto seer at J.D. Power, said it's typical for June to see pressure on sales because the month is sandwiched between two big sales periods: Memorial Day and the July 4 weekend. He says things are slower than normal because "incentive levels are $500 below the first-quarter average and depleted vehicle inventory have added to the pressure as the month progressed." But he adds that sales are still on track to stay with the recovery pace set in the first four months of the year.