January sales are up, but so are economic headwinds: 4.5 increase reflects improving supply; demand meets price pressure: 4.5 increase reflects improving supply; demand meets price pressure

摘要

For more than two years, the U.S. auto industry has been an extraordinary case study in Economics 101: The balance between supply and demand. January illustrated what happens when the market shifts: Supply got better, but the demand that's driven prices and profits since the microchip shortage began is beginning to soften under economic pressure.