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How to Use Ford's Market Data

  • 13 hours ago
  • 4 min read


Want to increase your sales effectiveness in 2026? You have access to all the data you need to lower your days on lot and increase your sales volume. In this article, you’ll learn the basics of inventory management, where to find your market data and how to use that data to crush your competition this new year.

Precision Inventory Management has been ordering new vehicles for Ford dealers across the US and Canada for more than a decade. More than 300 dealerships trust us to order new vehicles on their behalf, so we know how to leverage the available data into tangible results.

Inventory Management Basics—Volume, Speed, and Supply

Let’s start by discussing inventory. Theoretically, any inventory that matched customer demand exactly would be the fastest turning inventory. But how do you determine customer demand?

There are three metrics to look at when considering your market’s true demand:

  1. Volume

  2. Speed

  3. Supply

Volume represents the number of customers in an area that are buying certain units. For example, if 100 Bronco Sports sold in your market area and 50 of them were Big Bend, 50% would represent the volume of customers interested in buying Big Bend Bronco Sports.

Speed represents how fast or slow certain features of a unit have sold historically. Just because a car sold does not mean it was a good build. Speed will help determine if a feature that has sold was truly desired by a customer or was “sold” to the customer.

Supply represents imbalances in the market sales and inventory levels. For example, if Bronco Sport Big Bends are selling at a 50% volume but the market is only stocking them at 40%, they are understocked compared to sales demand. This is important in predicting the speed of future sales.

 

Basic economics dictate that if there is more supply than demand, speed will decrease. If there is less supply than demand, speed will increase.

Putting It Together

One metric on its own tells a story, but weaving them all together gets us to true market demand. So how do you do it?

By using volume, speed, and supply, we can create a Target Mix—a percent goal among available options which represents true market demand based on the available data. Target Mix can be used to approximate the ideal mix of fast-turning units for your specific market area. Here’s how we get there.

  1. Start with volume.

  2. Adjust up or down based on speed.

    1. Faster than average → adjust up.

    2. Slower than average → adjust down.

  3. Adjust again based on supply.

    1. Undersupplied → adjust up.

    2. Oversupplied → adjust down.

For example, take a market where 50% of sales among Bronco Sports are Big Bends. They sell in 40 days on average compared to 60 days on average for all Bronco Sports in the market, and they are only stocking at 45% in the market, which means they are undersupplied. Following the formula, we would:

  1. Start with 50% volume

  2. Big Bends are selling faster than average (40 days against 60 days) → adjust up.

    1. Target Mix = ~55%

  3. Big Bends are understocked in the market (45% stocking against 50%) → adjust up.

    1. Target Mix = ~60%

True market demand in this market would fall close to 60%. If true market demand is 60%, then a dealership would want to stock 60% Big Bend Bronco Sports on the lot.

Where is this data located for Ford dealers?

Ford’s market data reports deliver some of the most valuable market insights available to dealers. Two versions are provided—one for the prior model year and one for the current model year—covering all vehicle lines.

Each report features a 16-week sales history, average days on lot, and current inventory levels—what we refer to as volume, speed, and supply. The data is organized into three sections:

  • Your dealership

  • Your market (the 25 nearest dealers within 200 miles)

  • Your region

Where to Find Ford's Market Data Reports

Ford updates these reports every Friday. To access them:

  1. Go to the WBDO Dashboard.

  2. Under USEFUL LINKS, click “Download SIMS Consolidated Dealer Packet for all VLs.”

  3. A ZIP file will be downloaded. Open it and click on any vehicle line you want to explore. We prefer downloading the Excel files for easier navigation, but test out what works best for you.

How to Read Ford's Market Data Reports

At first glance, the amount of data in a market data file can feel overwhelming. A single vehicle line may include thousands of rows, but once you understand the layout, it quickly becomes a game changer.

Reading from left to right, in all three sections (dealership, market, and region), you’ll find:

• Descriptions—body codes, options, PEPs, colors, interiors, engines, and more

• Your dealership’s performance—16-week sales totals, mix percentage, and average days on lot (DOL)

• Inventory details—on-ground units, in-transit units, total inventory, and mix percentage

How to Utilize Your Data Strategically

Focus on the choices that have the greatest impact on a sale—body and trim levels, engines, appearance packages, and colors.

Begin with the Body/Equipment Group section, which shows how your trim mix compares to local demand. Find the body codes and trims that have volume, are turning the fastest, and have a good supply situation. From there, fine-tune your build by making powertrain, package, and paint selections in the Equipment Group/Powertrain, Packages, and Paint sections.

By consistently ordering what the market is asking for, you’ll stay well ahead of the competition and increase your sales and sales effectiveness.

Let Precision Do the Heavy Lifting

If time is tight, let us take it from here. At Precision, we work with market data every day, combining it with VIN-level insights and proprietary commodity data to create smarter orders that actually get scheduled.

Because it’s not just about knowing what you want—it’s about knowing how to get it built.

We specialize exclusively in Ford and Lincoln ordering and currently support more than 300 dealerships across North America. Our dealers benefit from higher sales, faster inventory turns, and stronger availability of high-demand commodities.

Book a demo today and we’ll analyze your store’s data while walking you through real, live opportunities in your market. You’ll see how we’ve transformed Ford’s raw market data files into a powerful, easy-to-use platform, complete with clear indicators that make finding true market demand instantly accessible.

 
 
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