Progress is made on inventory control

In a depressed and volatile U.S. market, automakers have struggled to control inventory, but they're making progress.

At the end of October, U.S. inventory of unsold light vehicles totaled 1.88 million. That's the fourth-lowest unit total in 18 years of complete records, a relief to hard-pressed manufacturers and dealers trying to slash carrying costs.

At October's seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate of 11.2 million units, that's enough stock to last 63 days, neither glut nor famine. Car and light-truck supplies were equal, each at 63 days. No major player was out of whack.

That has rarely happened -- especially during the past 18 months as a stupendous sales crash and roller-coaster fuel prices created a massive stress test of automakers' resolve to kick their profit-sapping incentive habit.

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