Car Company Execs: Inventories Low, Prices High

Car shortages will not likely go away any time soon, a report from The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) says.

The report says car company executives, who spoke at the New York International Auto Show, predicted industry issues will likely hamper things throughout the rest of the year.

The report notes that car prices have come a little off their record levels, but they’re still higher than usual.

And because of depleted car lots, strong customer demand and decreased factory output, things might be this way for a while.

Consumer demand could even keep the tide above normal if the computer-chip shortage that has caused problems for auto assembly eases up.

The report notes that auto makers hope for more available chips in 2022. However, that has been a persistent thorn in the side of the industry, limiting vehicle production globally.

Higher car prices have been a topic of discussion for some time in the U.S., with inflation in March hitting a four-decade high.

And even with the car companies trying to promote new products, there’s been a long period of low inventory, leaving car shoppers without many alternatives.

PYMNTS wrote that U.S. factory production was up 0.9% in March. That constituted a third-straight month of gains.

Read more: Fed: Factory Output Rises, Car Production up 7.8%

Numbers from the Federal Reserve showed that the increase came with a 7.8% jump in auto production. Carmakers reportedly put out 9.75 million vehicles, which came out to the biggest number in several months.

The report numbers showed more production of business equipment, which was up 1.8% in the last month.

And there was a 0.4% increase in utility output.

The increases came after a 1.2% increase in February, showing an uptick in production from the late-2021 drop from a decline in car production, which came from the shortage of semiconductors.