Auto Sector Exhibits Resilience

摘要

After a strong start in the first quarter of this year, the market for new cars became tumultuous over the following three months. The combination of a spike in U.S. gasoline prices and the supply disruptions caused by the earthquake/tsunamiuclear disaster in Japan constrained the auto market at the beginning of the second quarter. All the hoopla that accompanied the Federal government's debt-limit debacle further suppressed consumers' desire to spend as the summer progressed.