Auto assemblies show modest uptick   

U.S. assemblies of autos and light trucks exceeded 8 million for only the third month since the recession, posting an 8.4% gain from January. The broader picture is that assemblies have been relatively flat for the last 10 months ranging between 7.5 and 8.5 million units annualized. Our graph is a 3-month moving average of the seasonally adjusted annualized sales. Year over year percentage growth using the three-month moving average has flattened out as numbers are no longer being compared to the trough of the recession. Assemblies are still at very depressed levels compared to historical auto assembly volumes.