Although the automotive industry is suffering through the most extensive collapse of sales since 1980, manufacturers have managed to keep their inventories under control for high-volume models.

Dealers, wary of the rise in financing rates and under pressure from lenders to keep their stock low, have cut inventory and are ordering in the new model year with extreme caution.

On October 1, the combined stock of unsold vehicles across the industry totaled 2.9 million. That figure comes in at approximately 300,000 units under the 10-year average. To compute the total, vehicles at dealerships, in factory lots, at ports of entry, and those in transit are counted.

Current numbers constitute a 72-day supply as compared to 61 days on September 1 and 59 on October 1, 2007. The current numbers are high due to the unusually poor selling rate in September.

George Pipas, top sales analyst at Ford, said, "Auto manufacturers have been pretty disciplined about gauging demand and keeping inventory under control. You can't just put the business on cruise control anymore."

The same is true for dealers. Joe Jankowski, CEO of Schaefer and Strohminger, was quoted by Automotive News saying, "We are reducing all of our inventories, with the exception of Honda, to targeted levels. We're factoring in a combination of days supply and specific floor plan expense levels." The Baltimore-based dealership groups sells brands including Honda, Dodge, Mazda, Jeep, GMC, Hyundai and Pontiac.