U.S. December Inventory, Days’ Supply Fall

One month after posting a modest gain, U.S. new light-vehicle inventory and days’ supply fell again in December as dealers closed 2011 with relatively robust sales.

In all, there were 2,352,202 cars and light trucks on dealer lots at the end of last month, down 2.8% from 2,418,889 in November and a mere 0.8% above the 2,334,471 posted in 2010.

A relatively robust selling rate helped trim both unit stock and days’ supply, the latter slipping ...