GAINESVILLE, Ga. -

When Ricky Beggs analyzed the various movements in wholesale prices from last week, there were two trends that jumped out.

There weren’t as many value adjustments, he said, and the declines in price were not as pronounced.

In fact, the number of adjustments hit a five-week low, Beggs pointed out, though most of the changes were decreases.

“By the end of the week the summaries of data showed us a continuing soft market with still only about 17 percent of the adjustments being increases,” said Beggs, Black Book’s editorial director, in his latest video report recapping the used-car market.

“Two things caught my attention this past week,” he added. “One was that both the average segment change for the cars and the trucks had smaller levels of declines than the previous week; and No. 2, even though the market softness continues, the number of vehicles needing adjustment was the lowest in the past five weeks, at only 1,430 on average per day throughout the week.”

Drilling down into specifics, the average change in value for car segments was a decrease of $60. This was the most moderate decline Black Book has observed among cars in the past five weeks. The entry midsize cars (down $33) had the slimmest change

Meanwhile, the average change for trucks was a downturn of $34, and similarly, this was the narrowest decline in six weeks.

“If you are a seller, the segment you might want to have some models to put into the wholesale market would have to be the full-size vans, both passenger and cargo versions, as there have been positive change levels the past two weeks,” Beggs said in his summary of truck price trends. “One year ago, both full-size van configurations were also positive level changes.”

Conversely, full-size SUVs fell $117 and luxury SUVs dropped $105 — these were the biggest decliners on the truck side.

“The compact pickups and the compact SUVs continue to be the most stable segments over the past three to four weeks,” Beggs said. “These two better-performing segments also happen to be segments made up of fewer choices or models and volumes within the vehicles making up the segments.”

Overall, Beggs anticipates the market will maintain soft used-vehicle values, particularly among some of the late-model vehicles. He also forecasts a spike in incentive spending for the fall.

“As we look at the pattern of used-vehicle prices we anticipate the softness to continue. The 1- and 2-year-old models should be getting the largest level of adjustments as well as the most limited interest from the buyers,” he explained. “As we move into the fall of the year, expect a more focused effort from the manufacturers to keep market share by bumping up various incentive offerings.”

The complete “Beggs on the Used Car Market” video can be seen above.