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This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Are pickup truck sales meaningful indicators of economic growth in the states?

By Christopher Hutton
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YES

Economists have found that light-truck sales numbers, while not a perfect indicator, often reflect the state of the U.S. economy overall, largely because of their connection to home construction.

During the 1994-2006 period, pickups generally made up just over 18% of all sales of new light vehicles each year, according to TD Economics. That percentage only dropped below 18% in 2006, when the housing market began to go south. Pickup sales continued to drop until hitting bottom in 2009. A "construction rebound" began in 2013, and pickup sales grew by 11.7% that year.

DataTrek observes that pickup sales between 2015 and 2019 seemed to demonstrate "the same slow but steady growth" of most small businesses. "For them, purchasing a new vehicle is entirely discretionary; they can always fix the old one and keep it running another year if they are worried about business conditions."

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
TD Bank: US auto sales basking in their comeback glow
Washington Post: How truck sales track the economy
DataTrek: Pickup sales as economic indicator
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.