Used-car sales this month could approach 3.64 million units, according to a forecast released Friday by ALG.

That would be a 2.4-percent year-over-year increase.

Including fleet, the firm is forecasting 1.59 million new-car sales, which would be a 0.2-percent hike from March 2016.

Without fleet, new-car sales would be at 1.28 million (up 1.0 percent).

“Auto sales in the first quarter of 2017 are humming along and deliveries are in line with our expectations for the full calendar year,” ALG chief industry analyst Eric Lyman said in a news release. “March faced a number of challenges, including winter storms that disabled dealerships in the Northeast for days, delayed tax refund payments and rising interest rates.

“Despite these headwinds, the industry managed to squeak out a slight gain year over year,” he said.

Kelley Blue Book is forecasting new-car sales (including fleet) to climb 3 percent and come in at 1.63 million. KBB expects 77.9 percent of those new-car sales to be from retail.

The estimated SAAR for the month would be 17.4 million, KBB said. A year ago, the March SAAR was 16.6 million. In February, the SAAR was 17.5 million.

“Kelley Blue Book expects manufacturers to report mostly positive sales numbers this month, capping a steady first quarter with an average SAAR of 17.4 million,” KBB analyst Tim Fleming said in a news release. “Despite considerably higher discounts and incentives, first quarter sales totals will likely only finish flat versus last year, a signal of weakening consumer demand for new vehicles. 

“As sales cool after years of robust growth, adjusting production accordingly and managing supply, especially in car segments, should be top priorities for automakers,” he said.