U.S. new-vehicle sales to decline for a second consecutive month?

Even as incentive spending reaches a record high, U.S. new-vehicle sales are projected to decline for a second consecutive month. The forecasts reinforce the notion that industry sales have leveled off after six consecutive years of gains coming out of the recession. But analysts say the market is not on the brink of a downturn, either.

Auto sales are tracking just about even with last year’s record-breaking pace, so there’s good reason to believe that they’ve hit a high plateau. At the very least, automakers can feel good that sales are consistently hovering at or around last year’s record levels. All of the forecasts show that September is expected to be the first month since February in which automakers sold fewer than 1.5 million vehicles.

Read more