Advance retail sales data from commerce department, chart by Mish
We have an interesting set of Advance Retail Sales numbers from the Commerce Department this morning.Advance Retail Sales Key Details (Commerce Dept and Mish Notes)
Nominal Advance Retail Sales Millions of Dollars 
Advance Retail Sales Major Categories 
Motor vehicle sales are counted when shipped from the manufacturer to the dealer no matter how long the cars sit on the lots. This grossly distorts auto sales.Did manufactures ramp up ICE cars to as EVs sat on the lots unsold?
Spotlight on Motor Vehicle Sales 
Motor vehicle sales have not gone anywhere since December of 2022.In the same timeframe, nonstore sales are up 15.7 percent,Food and Beverage Stores vs Eating Places 
Consumers hit a brick wall on eating out in late 2023.Mirage of Inflation 
Inflation and three rounds of free money fiscal stimulus accounts for all of surge in spending since 2020.Here’s the key phrase from the commerce department: Advance Estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for July 2024, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $709.7 billion, an increase of 1.0% (±0.5 percent) from the previous month.The above chart shows how much of the surge is due to inflation. Real sales are still below the covid free money spike of 233,400 in 2021.
Credit Card and Auto Loan Delinquencies Surge in the Second QuarterMeanwhile, please note Credit Card and Auto Loan Delinquencies Surge in the Second QuarterSpending is a mirage of debt and inflation. But credit stress is rising.More By This Author:Will The Fed Cut Interest Rates By 0.25 Points Or 0.50 Points In September? Consumer Price Index a Tad Better than Expected Year-Over-YearExpect Good to Very Good CPI Reports for July, August, and September
