The U.S. auto industry was hit particularly hard by the last recession and financial crisis. For those selling used cars, the recession was less severe than for car manufacturers and new car dealers. As an industry, used car dealers saw a downturn in sales for two years (2008 and 2009) but by 2011 had completely recovered and exceeded their pre-recession sales while new car dealers were still 10% off of their 2007 peak sales.

The graph shows annual sales for U.S. used car dealers from 1992 through 2011. As can be seen in the graph, while the used car industry can usually weather a recession well, as demand for used cars is less impacted by an overall downturn than are sales of new cars, the recession from late 2007 through 2009 was not a “normal” recession. Financial system crises, as the one that started in 2008, lead to more severe and long-term troubles for the economy and they even impact industries that are immune to cyclical recessions.

Geographic reference: United States
Year: 2011
Market size: $82.07 billion
Source: “Estimates of Monthly Retail and Food Services Sales by Kind of Business: 2011,” Monthly Retail Trade Report, November 14, 2012, data for the NAICS industry 44112. The graph was sourced from the same report as well as the Annual Retail Trade Survey 2010, March 30, 2012. Both reports are available online at the Census Bureau website.
Original source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census
Posted on November 19, 2012