ATLANTA -

The first Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index for 2012 came out Tuesday, and the trend continued what auctions and dealers saw for most of last year — wholesale prices moving higher.

Manheim discovered that wholesale values (on a mix-, mileage-, and seasonally adjusted basis) rose 0.5 percent in January relative to December and were up 0.6 percent from their year-ago level.

The January Manheim index reading was 125.7, only 1.6 percent off the all-time high reached last May.

“Wholesale values have continued to improve over the past three months even as the year-over-year declines in total auction supply have become increasingly small,” Manheim chief economist Tom Webb explained.

“And, for some vehicle segments, auction volumes have actually increased significantly in recent months. Thus, the strength in pricing is reflecting the ongoing improvement in retail demand as evidenced in rising new and used vehicle sales,” Webb continued.

“Improving labor market and credit conditions suggest these upward trends will continue,” he added.

When looking at year-over-year price changes by vehicle segment, Manheim spotted four segments with price gains and two others with price drops.

Leading the increases were compact cars (up 5.1 percent), followed by midsize cars (up 4.7 percent), vans (up 2.7 percent) and pickups (up 0.7 percent).

Pacing the decreases were SUVs and CUVs (down 4.8 percent) followed by luxury cars (down 3.6 percent).

“Prices for luxury cars, as well as high-end SUVs and sports cars, continued to weaken in January,” Webb surmised.

“Midsize cars showed a noticeable improvement in pricing in January. Both minivans and cargo vans had higher prices relative to December on lighter volume,” he noted.

Off-Rental & Commercial Fleet Discussion

Elsewhere in his index commentary, Webb mentioned that prices for off-rental units remained at record highs in January.

“As was the case in the fourth quarter, off-rental volumes grew and prices remained at historic highs. Average mileage was consistent with both December and year-ago levels,” he surmised.

Meanwhile, Webb pointed out there is continued good demand for end-of-service commercial fleet vehicles.

“Pricing for end-of-service midsize fleet cars rose in January, but not substantially more than the normal seasonal pattern. Pricing for pickup trucks coming out of fleet service jumped substantially,” he noted.

New & Used Retail Sales Analysis

Webb wrapped up his latest index commentary by touching on both new- and used-vehicle sales.

The Manheim economist said used-vehicle sales rose more than 10 percent in January after a gain of more than 5 percent in 2011.

“Preliminary numbers suggest that front-end gross margins improved after a recent weakening and that already high back-end incomes continued to rise,” Webb explained.

He went on to note that new-vehicle sales started the year with an upside surprise.

Webb reiterated that new cars and light-duty trucks sold at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 14.2 million in January, a figure he said was above consensus estimates made as recently as mid-month, suggesting that sales were back-loaded.

“January’s pace was also above what most forecasters expect for the full year,” Webb acknowledged.

“Importantly, January’s strong sales were not incentive-induced,” he emphasized. “Per-vehicle spending was down from both December and year-ago levels. Average transaction prices were up from a year ago. They were down from December, but that was simply because of the normal seasonal shift in the mix of vehicles sold.”