GAINESVILLE, Ga. — As the second month of the year closed, wholesale auction prices continued to gain rising momentum, according to Black Book's Ricky Beggs. He indicated this past week that 63 percent of the models adjusted had increases in value.

Those increases in value were for both clean and average condition values, according to Beggs, Black Book's vice president and managing editor. He indicated that the increase of $176 remained steady as compared to the previous week.

Meanwhile, among the 37 percent of values that decreased, Beggs pointed out they took a larger hit than in previous adjustments, dropping an average of $213.

"The activity on the auction lanes continues to be extremely strong with most lanes, markets and vehicle segment types garnering much attention and strong bids resulting in increasing used values," Beggs emphasized during the "Beggs on the Used Car Market" video report.

"The most frequent comments from dealers are that they are ‘having to pay too much' or ‘paying more than they did a month or six weeks earlier.' A lack of supply continues to drive the market," he continued.

Beggs went on to mention that in regard to the overall average change of all adjusted vehicles, he spotted an increase of just over $39 for clean condition values and just over $23 for average condition values.

"For both car and truck segments, the movement in values compared to the previous week were both positive movements," Beggs revealed.

Black Book also determined that two segments — premium sporty cars and compact cars — had an increase in average value. The firm pointed out that these were the first increases of any car segments for this calendar year.

The gains also were the closest overall car change to the baseline since the first week of November.

Moving on to a discussion about trucks, Beggs noted that the truck segments finished in positive territory for the second consecutive week.

"This was driven with seven of the 14 truck segment types being above the baseline," Beggs said.

"These versatile model types could be supported somewhat by the price levels of gas, which fortunately has remained mostly stable for quite some time," he added.

To compile the latest trend data, Beggs mentioned that Black Book editors adjusted a little more than 1,100 vehicles each day. He stressed how it was an increase of the amount from the previous week, which was more than 730.

Beggs said the average of the month of February was a little more than 1,200 vehicles adjusted per day.

"I might be sounding a little like a broken record when I say it has been another busy week," Beggs explained. "It seems that there are just not enough hours in the day, or even days in the week, to look at all the market data, attend all the auctions, talk to all the knowledgeable dealers and remarketers, and then make the necessary adjustments to the values we publish on a daily basis. Our editors are focused to complete the necessary tasks."

Beggs' latest discussion also included commentary about recalled Toyota vehicles, which have recently returned to auction lanes.

"Over the last two weeks since the repaired recalled Toyota products have appeared back on the auction lanes and dealers' used-car lots, we have seen increased attention at most auction locations for the Toyota products," Beggs revealed.

"The most positive attention bringing increased selling prices were reflected in the trucks, CUVs and SUVs. At least one auction this past week indicated the demand on some of the car models from Toyota weakened somewhat," he went on to say.

"This was not prevalent at all auctions, but did catch our attention," he added.

Beggs' latest report also included a mention about an increase in Black Book offering more market-based used values on some limited volume vehicles and respective trim levels within the guides.

"A few of these were for 2010 models," he noted. "For now, these 2010 used values will only appear in the electronic Black Book products. The 2010 lineups and used values will appear in the printed guides for the May products."

Finally, Beggs pointed out that Black Book's online computer generated new-vehicle sales leads significantly increased activity during the past week

"With these tools available on over 7,000 new-car dealers' Web sites, as well as numerous OEM-generated sites, a potential retail customer has accurate market driven trade in values when he/she is contacted, contacts or arrives at the new car dealership," Beggs explained.

"This increased activity with well over 7,300 complete leads in just one day indicated a potential trade in or even a used-car sales opportunity," he continued.

"Now is the time to be ready to increase your inventory and to be prepared with the most current market values when those trade-ins do arrive," Beggs concluded.