New York — All those years of rising US car sales are starting to work against car makers. A glut of used vehicles has started to depress prices. That trend will intensify as Americans will return 3.36-million leased cars and trucks in 2017, another jump after a 33% surge in 2016, according to JD Power. The fallout has already begun, with Ford shaving $300m from its financial-services arm’s 2017 profit forecast. "Ford is the canary in the coal mine," said Maryann Keller, a car industry consultant. This drag may be hitting the rest of the industry, too. A National Automobile Dealers Association index of used vehicle prices declined each of the last six months of 2016. If used values weaken more than anticipated, it can lead to losses across the industry, hitting car makers, lenders to the industry and rental companies. The Nada Used Car Guide’s price index dropped about 4% in 2016 from 2015’s average, the first significant decrease since the recession. The boom in cars and trucks com...
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