It’s hard to say whether the U.S. market has hit bottom

Despite signs of steadier U.S. auto sales in August, it remains uncertain whether industrywide sales in the largest vehicle market have hit bottom, and conditions next year are unlikely to improve.
The sharp decline in U.S. auto sales this year, prompted in part by record gasoline prices, caught Toyota and other major automakers by surprise.
Toyota, which has overtaken General Motors Corp as the world’s largest automaker and Ford Motor Co as No. 2 in the U.S. market, has seen its U.S. sales drop 8 percent through August.
The overall market was down 11 percent through August.
Overall, US sales fell 15.5 per cent compared with August of last year, but rose 10 per cent from July’s dismal figures, according to Autodata Corp.
But the increase over July buoyed most automakers, with sales executives saying that lower fuel prices were starting to ease consumers’ minds. They also reported the market shifting a little bit back towards trucks and sport utility vehicles, driven by incentives and lower gas prices.