TORONTO -

Canadian dealers ramped up vehicle sourcing for the spring selling season during March, according to ADESA Canada president and chief operating officer Stéphane St-Hilaire this week. He said this is one of the elements that helped push auction prices to more than a 2-percent sequential gain during the month,

St-Hilaire sat down with Auto Remarketing Canada on Wednesday at the 2011 Auto Remarketing Canada — Canada’s Used Car Conference to discuss the latest ADESA Canada Used Vehicle Price Index.

Specifically, ADESA’s data — powered by ALG Canada — indicates that auction prices jumped about 2.5 percent month-over-month, and there was a 0.1-percentage-point gain in the ADESA Canada Used Vehicle Price Index on a sequential basis during March.

St-Hilaire boiled the wholesale price upswing down to several elements, including economic factors, supply dynamics and dealers gearing up for the spring selling season by acquiring more used inventory.

Starting with supply, he stressed that: "The supply chain is starting to decline a little bit. There are less cars."

This, of course, tends to push prices up.

Looking at economic factors, the analysis indicates that coinciding with rising consumer confidence is rising purchases. These gains have bolstered both new-vehicle sales — which showed a 5.5-percent year-over-year hike during the month — and the Used Vehicle Consumer Price Index, which jumped 17 percent sequentially.

Breaking ADESA’s data down by segment, mid-compact prices jumped 9 percent sequentially and led the way. Second on the list was the midsize segment, which showed an 8-percent month-over-month hike in value.

Compact SUVs climbed 5 percent and minivans were up 1 percent. Meanwhile, midsize SUV prices dipped 0.7 percent from February and full-size pickups were off 1 percent.

When asked whether the segment trend of fuel-efficient sectors showing the most upward movement was greatly driven by rising gas prices, St-Hilaire said: “I think gas prices have a lot to do with it.”

However, he did point out that the impact of fuel costs on heftier segments has “been somewhat absorbed” by the fact that consumers aren’t making drastic changes in auto-buying behavior like they did in 2008.

But “we’re starting to flirt with the level (of fuel prices) where it might not” be absorbed, St-Hilaire suggested.

In other words, fuel prices in the Canadian market are moving closer to a level where it may lead to more substantial change in consumers’ auto-buying habits.