How will the UAW strike impact the car market?

(NewsNation) — Amid the United Auto Workers’ continuing strike against major auto manufacturers, some car dealerships are concerned about their inventories.

Knowing a strike was imminent, one dealership owner acquired more inventory about 30 days ago, trying to stock up as much as possible.

“GM is probably where we see the most concern, as they only had about a 40-day supply. So if this strike does last as long as some of the others have, we could see a real shortage of GM inventory,” Scott Kunes of Kunes Automotive and RV Group said.

Kunes told NewsNation the strike’s impact could add to the lingering issues from the pandemic and the supply chain shortage.

“What we have on the ground, or what we can go out and acquire, is pretty much what we can promise you at this point. We don’t know how long the strike is going to go, and then after the strike, how long it would take to get back up to production levels that we’ve seen in the past,” Kunes said.

Auto sales have not quite recovered from pandemic times, and the strike could throw a wrench in the market once again.

In August, the average new car in America sold for $48,451, according to Kelley Blue Book. However, average transaction prices are down 2.4% or $1,212 since the start of the year, the most significant decrease in the past decade.