WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif. -

The industry continues to be on a path toward $1 trillion in outstanding receivables and climbing contracts terms as new data from J.D. Power and LMC Automotive has the combination of strong sales and high transaction prices positioning March to set a new record for consumer spending on new vehicles.

With spending poised to set a record at approximately $37.7 billion, analysts also determined that extended term financing (contract of 72 months or longer) is on pace to set a new record for any month. J.D. Power and LMC Automotive indicated contract terms of at least 72 months now are being utilized on more than 35 percent of retail new-model deliveries.

The retail seasonally adjusted annualized selling rate (SAAR) in March is expected to be 13.6 million units, 449,000 units stronger than in March of last year and the highest retail SAAR for the month since March 2002 (14.8 million).

“Inclement weather in February caused many consumers to delay their new-vehicle purchase until March," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power.

“Other key industry metrics continue to demonstrate the industry's underlying strength,” Humphrey continued. “The average new-vehicle transaction price so far in March is $30,530, the highest level ever for the month of March.”

Fleet volume in March is projected to hit 304,900 units — accounting for 20 percent of total sales — which is consistent with the year-to-date level. Fleet volume is expected to fall as the year progresses, according to Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting at LMC Automotive.

“Autos didn’t escape a weather-driven hit to the vigorous selling rate trend in February, but upward performance returns in March and is expected to continue throughout the year,” Schuster said. “The U.S. continues to be one of the brighter spots in the global vehicle sales picture in 2015 with stable volume growth.”