Erich Merkle is an affiliated expert at Anderson Economic Group and has been working in the auto industry as an economic analyst and automobile sales forecast expert for more than ten years. He has authored numerous articles on car trends and the economy and often conducts economic and auto industry presentations around the country. 

Mr. Merkle predicts car trends based on his own economic analysis and automotive historical expertise. Many of his car trend projections and automobile sales forecast assessments have proven to be highly accurate over the years. As both an auto industry and economic analyst, he takes into account an appropriate mix of both quantitative and qualitative variables and understands their impact on the economic and automotive landscapes. This approach has made his presentations both informative and insightful to industry executives, investors, and analysts. Erich was one of the few analysts to correctly call the economic downturn at the beginning of 2007, by properly assessing and understanding the impact of the housing correction and its correlation to the broader macro economy. He was on record early last year warning that deflation (not inflation), coupled with a slowdown in global economic growth, would likely become the primary concern of central banks by the end of 2008.

Mr. Merkle graduated from the MBA program at Wayne State University in 1990. He earned his BBA from Eastern Michigan University in 1989. He is a member of the Society of Automotive Analysts, and was the two time winner of the Society's 2004 and 2007 vehicle production forecast contests.