BANDON, Ore. -

In what could be stemming from gas-price anxiety, dealers’ used-vehicle inventory on hand appears to be changing. And the shift that CNW Research spotted could possibly end up being "troubling" for dealers. What, exactly, did CNW see?

Basically, CNW noticed that instead of there being a shortage of trucks within dealership inventories, dealers are now finding that their lots are short on cars.

Overall, used-vehicle days’ supply in March was estimated to be 48.27 days.

CNW noted that used vehicles are available, but suggested that this possible shift in the mix of cars and trucks may be “troubling” for dealers.

In recent years, CNW explained, truck demand has been stronger than car demand.

“Beginning in February, though, the trend changed,” explained Art Spinella, president of CNW.“Of inventory on hand, cars now represent about 92 percent of days’ supply while trucks have climbed to over 110 percent.

"If this were a one-month snapshot, it could be written off as merely an anomaly,” he continued. “And it still may not be reflective of a long-term trend. But it is worth noting."

He went on to suggest that a likely impetus for the change is that, “Concerns about gas prices may finally have hit home and sent people to the ‘car side.’”

“While this will have little impact on casual sales, it will definitely affect franchised and independent dealerships who now have to beware of overloading lots with trucks or being forced to lower truck prices to facilitate a sale," he added.

CNW Projects Robust March

Continuing on, with March used-vehicle sales projected to show as high as a 6-percent year-over-year spike, the first quarter of 2011 is likely to signal some significant progress for the used side of the market.

Pushed by “looser credit,” CNW is projecting that used sales in March will show anywhere from a 5.5-percent to a 6-percent improvement from the 2.39 million used sales in March 2010.

“That would make the opening quarter of 2011 the best since 2008 — 6.336 million versus 6.63 million three years ago,” Spinella noted.

CNW also looked at sales per outlet data for independent stores in February and discovered this average increased by double digits.

Specifically, the company found that independents moved an average of 17.6 vehicles per outlet during February, which marks a 15.7-percent hike from the 15.2 unit-per-store average from a year ago.

“In fact, because of the decline in the economy in 2008 and 2009, the independent dealer body shrunk dramatically,” Spinella pointed out. “With an economic uptick and the availability of inventory, there are more independent outlets today. Outlook: Better profit picture for independents.”

Web Trends

Another area of the used market CNW touched on was used-vehicle sales in the online arena. The company found that the sales rate of Internet vehicles came in at 26.9 percent during February. A year ago, it was at 23.9 percent.

“The 12.7-percent boost represents a near 90,000 unit increase,” Spinella pointed out. “Total inventory offered on the Internet is four percentage points larger than last year.”