OPENLANE: Canadian Index Still Climbs Despite Prices Falling in Three of Four Vehicle Segments

Although wholesale prices for three of the four vehicle segments OPENLANE tracks slid down in June, the Canadian Market Index still ticked higher.

OPENLANE said its June Canadian Index settled at 98, which was 1 percentage point higher than May and 5 percentage points higher than the same month a year ago.

The Canadian Index has stood a percentage point or two above or below the June reading for all of 2011. The June mark still is far off the two high readings OPENLANE has reported since creating the index in June 2009.

The index’s all-time high is 109, recorded in November 2009.

As mentioned, OPENLANE analysts determined only car prices advanced last month. They said car prices ended up 2 percentage points higher than May levels.

Meanwhile, OPENLANE watched prices for minivans, SUVs and trucks all sink versus May.

Analysts determined truck prices softened 3 percentage points, while SUV prices dipped 4 percentage points. Minivan prices dropped the most — 7 percentage points from May.

As car prices climbed, OPENLANE discovered dealer interest in cars declined in June but still settled 16 percentage points higher than June of last year.

Analysts learned dealer interest in minivans dropped by 8 percentage points and sunk below June 2010 levels by 31 percentage points.

While OPENLANE saw SUV interest increase by 4 percentage points last month, the auction company indicated dealer interest in this segment slipped 5 percentage points below prior-year levels.

Finally, analysts determined dealer interest in trucks increased 4 percentage points in June but still settled 16 percentage points below the same month a year ago.