Cause and Effect

Selling new cars and trucks is a tough business these days. And its all because of supply chain interruptions. Driving past any dealer lot tells a story….there are more empty than filled stalls as auto factories struggle to finish new units that can be shipped to franchisees across the country.

The biggest issue is microchips. Manufacturers – mostly in China – simply can’t keep up as entire cities shutdown to combat COVID or power shortages trigger blackouts and factory closures.

That translates into shortages throughout the system as shippers are backlogged, ports are clogged and there aren’t enough drivers to fill all the trucks needed to get finished goods to their final destination.

Here are the latest numbers on new vehicle sales in the province to give this story some color and context.

In September, the most recent data we have, sales of new vehicles in Saskatchewan were in the neighborhood of 30-percent lower than the same month a year ago…..4,600 last year, 3300 this year. And August was about the same so this looks more like a trend than a blip.