Wholesale used-vehicle prices (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) increased 1.6% from October in the first 15 days of November. The mid-month Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index increased to 206.1 and is now showing a gain of 0.5% from the full month of November 2023.

The seasonal adjustment amplified the results for the month, as the seasonal factor moved much closer to the long-term average for the month of November. The non-adjusted price change in the first half of November rose 0.2% compared to October, and the unadjusted price was down only 0.6% year over year.

Typically, the average move for the month of November is a decrease of four-tenths of a point for seasonally adjusted values, highlighting that this mid-month change shows much less depreciation than usual.

“Supply for both wholesale and retail used-vehicle markets has continued to decline over the last month,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of Economic and Insights at Cox Automotive. “With sales conversion moving higher for six weeks in a row, it’s not surprising to see strength in wholesale prices in early November. Typically, November shows relatively small declines in values month to month; but so far, we’ve seen prices increase for both seasonally adjusted values as well as non-seasonally adjusted prices. Retail used-vehicle sales have increased for five consecutive weeks as well, and that should keep dealer demand for wholesale units elevated in coming weeks.”