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Wholesale Prices Rise, Used Listings Dip

By Staff Writer November 17, 2021

Gains in wholesale prices continued last week, but the rate of increase has slowed for both cars and trucks, according to Black Book’s Market Insights released Nov. 16.

‘No sale’s increased on the lanes this past week due to sellers raising floors and buyers exercising caution around lower condition units. Full-Size Vans continue to be a standout segment with increases in forty-one out of the last forty-two weeks.

  • On a volume-weighted basis, the overall Car segment increased +0.58%. For reference, the previous week, cars increased by +0.83%.
  • All nine car segments reported gains again last week.
  • Compact Cars had another large increase last week, +1.27%, compared to the prior week’s increase of +1.45%. This marks the thirteenth consecutive week of gains.
  • Mid-Size Cars continue to have large increases, but the rate of increase is slowing. This past week was +0.95%, compared to the week prior at +0.95%, and the week before that was +1.08%.
  • The volume-weighted, overall Truck segment increased +0.55%, compared to the prior week’s increase of +0.56%.
  • All thirteen truck segments reported gains last week.
  • Full-Size Vans are on a hot streak due to their limited new and used availability, reporting a gain of +1.31%, compared to the week prior at +1.02%.
  • The Compact segments, both mainstream (+0.88%) and luxury (+1.02%), reported large gains. However, both were smaller increases than the week prior at +1.03% and +1.15%, respectively.

During the third quarter, used retail prices continued to rise at a slower rate but have since picked up. After continued strong increases, the retail listing price index has increased to just over 32% above where we started the year.

This analysis is based on approximately two million vehicles listed for sale on U.S. dealer lots.

After some stabilization in October, used retail listings have declined to around 17% below where we started the year. This volume trend goes against what is considered typical. The graph below shows that this is lower than what was seen in both CY19 and CY20. With significantly reduced new inventory volume and decreasing used inventory, there are fewer retail listings available overall, reported Black Book.

Days-to-turn for used retail listings have slightly increased and now sit just above 37 days, which is still lower than what is typically expected in a normal year, but is higher than this time last year.

Volume in the lanes appears to be slightly up this week as dealers, fleet companies, and manufacturers work to clear out vehicles at increased prices before end of the year. More buyers are headed to the lanes to stock up for winter sales events and start preparing for the spring market. Newer used inventory continues to be a hot commodity invoking consistently stiff competition among franchise dealers, independent dealers, and rental companies.

The weekly average sales rate has been fairly consistent over the last few weeks but is starting to drop because sellers have continued to raise floors, even on damaged or lower quality vehicles, and buyers have some hesitation since demand is unknown and parts for repairs are largely unavailable.

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Last modified on Monday, 22 November 2021 16:03

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