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WASHINGTON, D.C. — There appears to be a summer slowdown for auto sales throughout much of the nation, according to the Federal Reserve, which released its latest Beige Book report on Wednesday.

The Fed indicated that "most" of its 12 Districts have seen vehicle sales dip lately. New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Richmond, Chicago and San Francisco experienced softer vehicle sales in the weeks following the prior Beige Book report.

Showing an increase was the Kansas City area, while Dallas was static. Gaining ground from a year ago were Atlanta and St. Louis.

Inventory challenges also were pressing issues in many areas. In fact, short or declining inventory levels were reported in the New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland, Chicago, Kansas City and Dallas districts, according to the Fed.

"Auto dealers anticipate little change in sales for the rest of 2010 in the Philadelphia District and expect sales to increase slowly in the Dallas District," the Fed noted. "Contacts in the Kansas City District expect continued strong demand, while those in the Cleveland District do not anticipate strong growth in the coming months."

The Fed broke down its analysis to share how auto dealers are faring in each of the 12 Districts, beginning with Boston.

Boston

Officials did not offer any specific auto-related trends, but did note that May and June showed "mixed" results for the retail market.

"The majority of contacts express concern over consumer confidence, and even those retailers reporting sales increases voice a cautious outlook," the Fed stated.

New York

In the Second District, there has been some slowing of vehicle sales as of late, but sales are stronger than they were this time last year, the Fed shared.

A dealer association in upstate New York, for example, said that although the 10-percent year-over-year upswing in new-vehicle sales in May slowed down the following month, June showed a year-over-year improvement as well.

"Used auto sales have been running lower than a year ago, due largely to lean inventories," the Fed noted. "Dealers report that retail credit conditions have remained favorable and that wholesale credit conditions have improved."

Philadelphia

Dealers in the Third District have scaled back prior projections for the rest of 2010, saying now they believe auto sales will be more "steady."

"Auto dealers expect the sales rate to be steady in the months ahead, retreating from their previous view that sales would increase," the Fed pointed out.

Sales dipped in May and June and have remained sluggish this month.

"Although dealers said there continue to be shortages of popular models, they said overall demand for cars and light trucks has not been as strong recently as it was earlier in the year," officials shared.

Cleveland

For most stores, the mid-May through mid-June period showed auto sales dipping from the mid-April through mid-May period in the Fourth District.

"Dealers indicated that the rising sales trend present in the spring has leveled off, and they are not expecting a return to robust growth in the near term. Many dealers said that their inventories are low, which was attributed to seasonal factors," the Fed noted.

On the used side of the market, dealers reported that strength have been maintained "reasonably well."

With regards to auto lending, the Fed added: "Our contacts told us that they are finding it more challenging to arrange financing for customers with less than the highest credit rating.

"Reports show little change in staffing levels at retailers or auto dealers," the report shared.

Richmond

In the Fifth District, the Fed said that "several" dealerships told them sales have fallen. In general, the Fed's survey found that there has been a drastic decline in big-ticket purchases and traffic throughout the overall retail market.

The Fed did note in its review of finance activities in the region that there was more lending sent to dealers for inventory purchases.

Atlanta

The Fed indicated that in its Sixth District, contacts said they have seen year-over-year improvements in vehicle sales.

Chicago

Incentives have played a role in bringing consumers to dealerships in the Seventh District during the early part of this month, though vehicle sales dipped in June.

"Auto sales were lower in June, but auto dealers reported showroom traffic picked up in early July in part supported by increased incentives. In addition, several dealers indicated inventories were lower than desired," the Fed noted.

St. Louis

In the St. Louis region, both the new- and used-vehicle markets have been "slightly" stronger than expected the past few weeks and have improved on a year-over-year basis

Minneapolis

The economy in this region has shown modest improvement, and consumer spending is up.

As far as auto-related details, the Fed gave one example of dealer whose dealers have started to gain momentum, noting: "A Montana auto dealer noted that June sales were behind a year ago, but July sales have picked up substantially."

Kansas City

An increase in discounts pushed vehicle sales upward. These sales gains are projected to continue "in coming months."

Inventory, meanwhile, still is decreasing.

Dallas

In the 11th District, there was flatness in the auto market. Dealers reported inventory as being "lean."

"The outlook is cautiously optimistic, with sales expected to rise slowly," the Fed stated.

San Francisco

Finally, the 12th showed modest softening, but there has been an uptick as of late.

"Sales of new domestic and imported automobiles weakened slightly during the reporting period, although contacts noted that activity rebounded somewhat in recent weeks," the Fed shared.