NEW YORK (AP) -- A Jefferies (JEF) analyst said Tuesday that November U.S. sales of new vehicles could rise about 11 percent from year-ago levels, helped by pent-up demand and the need to replace cars and trucks destroyed by Superstorm Sandy.
THE OPINION: Analyst Peter Nesvold expects industrywide seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) for November of 14.9 million to 15.1 million units, which would represent an increase of about 11 percent from the same month last year.
SAAR is a figure reflecting reflects how many cars would be sold if the current sales pace persisted for the entire year, adjusted for seasonality.
Nesvold estimated that purchases that were put off and replacement demand from losses due to Sandy could boost November results by about 100,000 annualized units. He backed his previous full-year SAAR prediction of 14.4 million units.
The analyst added that lower supply and higher demand for used cars stemming from Sandy should also help increase wholesale prices of used vehicles.
THE SHARES: Ford (F 0.21%) shares rose 10 cents to $11.21 in afternoon trading. General Motors (GM -0.04%) shares rose 2 cents to $25.25.
