U.S .Housing Starts and Automotive Market Decline in June

     According to the latest statistics of U.S. Department of Commerce (DoC), in June 2019 U.S. housing starts dropped by 0.9% from the previous month (May), the lowest record since June 2017. On the other hand, U.S. new car sales in June this year amounted to around 1.5 million units, down 2.8% from the same period last year and down 5% from May 2019. The cumulative new car sales in the first 6 months this year amounted to around 8.43 million units, down 2% from the same period last year.
 
     The decline in U.S. housing starts may greatly affect Taiwan’s small screws export to the U.S. Also, the declining new car sales in the U.S. market may influence the order intake of Taiwanese fastener manufacturers in the second half of 2019.