Major auto makers reported a pullback in U.S. sales for the first quarter of 2022, as a shortage of vehicles on dealership lots continued to hamper business and suppress buying activity ahead of what is typically a busy selling season.

Analysts are forecasting first-quarter sales for the industry could drop as much as 16% over the prior-year period, when car-lot stock was more plentiful and buyers, benefiting from a recovering economy, snatched up vehicles at a blistering pace.