MAUMEE, Ohio — U.S. retail sales surged in January, up 3% from December, one of the biggest gains in two years.
One particular sector that saw a lot of growth was auto sales, up 6.4% in January.
According to Chris Gomez, the general manager of Jim White Honda in Maumee, northwest Ohio auto sales actually have been down 11% in the last month. But, Gomez said sales are still up over 50% from January 2022 on the upswing from pandemic lows.
Potential customers on the Jim White Honda lot on Monday said high-interest rates are causing some sticker shock.
Brooke Makrancy and her father Chris were considering a major decision on Monday: buying a new car after her last one died on the side of the road.
"It's kind of my only option, but it's fun seeing what else is out there," said Brooke said.
They're just two customers in a growing number of people returning to auto dealerships, as the industry begins to bounce back all over the U.S.
"It was great sales for January and it's been a great February so far, so we're really excited about the upcoming year," Gomez said.
He attributes part of the recovery to the fact that they actually have cars to sell after two years of parts shortages.
"It's all because of inventory 'constrainment,'" Gomez said. "It was really tough in 2021 and 2022, in 2022 alone I think it was down 22%."
Now, inventory has caught up and production has been able to continue. Gomez said his lot still only has about 50 cars when it used to have six times that, but everything now sells almost immediately.
Not everyone is walking away with a car, though. Brooke decided she needed to take a look at some factors before making a purchase: credit score, interest rates and what the monthly car payments would be.
Her father, Chris, said he could remember buying a car just three years ago, and prices were thousands of dollars less. But now that interest rates have risen, it makes the market more challenging for people like his daughter, he said.
"Hopefully rates come down, car prices can come down, and the next group that comes to buy a car won't have to pay as much," Chris said.
Gomez said while business has been strong, he doesn't feel like they're where they need to be quite yet. He hopes Jim White Honda can have 100 cars in stock by summertime.
Automotive sales weren't the only industry that was looking strong in January.
Food and drink saw a 7% hike. Retail stores saw the biggest spike of all: 17.5%.