For a third consecutive month China’s vehicle sales dropped in July, hit hard by flooding in some areas of the country, COVID-19 outbreaks in other areas and the global shortage of semiconductors.

According to data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers (CAAM) China’s auto market sales fell 11.9 percent from the same month a year earlier to 1.86 million vehicles,.

China’s vehicle sales surged 19 percent in the first seven months of the year, as the market recovered from pandemic lows. CAAM said that rebound is set to peter out with sales for the rest of 2021 expected to be below relatively high year-ago levels, although the market is still expected to log growth overall on an annual basis.

Chen Shihua, a senior CAAM executive, cautioned that the global chip shortage, which has led to automakers curtailing production, was unlikely to resolve itself soon as the pandemic rages on in many parts of the world.