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Nov. 5, 2013 – Vehicle sales decreased slightly in October, on a seasonally adjusted basis, in part because of the government shutdown, according to a NAFCU Macro Data Flash.

NAFCU Senior Economist Curt Long analyzed data from Autodata Corp for the report, which showed vehicle sales decreasing from 15.3 million annualized units in September to 15.2 million in October. However, sales have increased year over year, with General Motors reporting the strongest growth at 15.7 percent.

"The weak monthly sales numbers were most likely caused by slower sales in the first half of the month due to the government shutdown," Long wrote. "Pent-up demand, low interest rates and a slowly improving labor market have all helped maintain positive year-over-year sales growth."

Although car sales decreased from 7.7 million annualized units in September to 7.6 million in October, light truck sales remained at the same level of 7.6 million.

The U.S. brand share of the total vehicle market increased from 45.1 percent in September to 46 percent in October.