Are the new car lots getting new cars yet?

In short I would guess no.
The Baltimore bridge collapse has disrupted access to the port which was a major handler of cars and light trucks so deliveries of foreign vehicles will be affected. Conversely supply of domestic vehicles may increase as it will be harder to export them.
The conflict in Iseral is also affecting the global supply chain as ships are avoiding the Suez Canal and taking the long way round.
Also, there’s a drought effecting the Panama Canal limiting traffic and causing diversions which probably isnt helping.
The global cost of living crisis isalso causing issues, There was a trucker strike in south Korea impacting loading and loading, same in the UK, French dock workers etc.

I would say yes here. Lots appear full and the calls asking to purchase any vehicles I have taken in for service in the last ten years have stopped.

I’ve never seen even an almost empty new car lot! They advertised “low low prices” and “cars are selling out” but it was BS.

In my area, I haven’t heard anything about a shortage for over 2 years. A friend bought a Honda HRV during the height of the shortage and she had to pay 2k over MSRP because of the shortage then. A friend’s husband bought a pickup truck about a year ago and they didn’t mention anything about a shortage, and they got a break through the Costco Auto Program. Other parents in the area bought new cars for their kids and I didn’t hear anything about a shortage.

Maybe some areas get more cars than others, I don’t know.

I drive through an “auto mall” on my commute home from work, where five large dealers (and a Car Max selling used cars) are located in a short stretch of road.

The supply was meager circa 2021 when I was last car shopping. Prices for new and used cars were inflated thanks to the short supply. Looking for a cheap reliable used car, I figured I would get a medium-mileage little Honda or Toyota for $8000 – $10000 US. Instead Corollas and Civics with 150,000 miles were going for $15,000!

The lots are well-stocked now. I do not remember when they filled up again.

@Lightlyseared has a good point, Baltimore has been the highest-volume US port for car imports, so that could squeeze the numbers down.

I took note of car lots that gouged customers during the pandemic and will never do business with them again.

Here’s some good news for buyers

Marketplace dot org – Mar 11, 2024 – Car dealers’ inventories are up, so haggling and incentives are back

In my area the car dealers are not back to pre-pandemic levels but are no longer tacking “ADM”. . . additional dealer mark-up on cars!
Spare parts at dealers have not returned to delivery rate, some items that used to be next day if ordered by 11 AM are now 4 or 5 days because they are being shipped cross-country

Not yet. Still in transit on the train or slow boat from other far-away lands.

Detroit . . . last time I looked is not a far-away land.

The new car lots aren’t empty here by any means, but you don’t see many people driving new cars either. I have noticed that we’re having a significant number of new dealerships moving in to our area.

We went out new car shopping in 2023, and there were no new cars on the lots. None.
My son in law, who works at Cadillac says things are a little better at Cadillac lots, but not much.

A new Subaru dealer just opened up not far from me, to replace one that was down the road and they were advertising on the radio that they had lots of new cars in stock.