REDWOOD CITY, Calif. — So far this year, used-vehicle pricing has largely been stable, and although there was some minor volatility during the middle of the month, prices in all segments finished February "in a steady state," according to the latest OPENLANE Market Report.

"Price levels in 2010 have remained steady to date, with February month-average levels remaining on par with January," officials noted.

Looking at individual segment movements during February, OPENLANE explained that "despite a slight volatile movement mid-month, prices for all vehicle segments ended the month in a steady state."

More specifically, prices in the car segment were static during the first weeks, but eventually finished February 2 percentage points ahead of January.

After declining in the second week of the month, minivan prices climbed and ended up 5 percentage points above the previous month's levels.

Meanwhile, SUV prices showed a modest gain during the first week, but slowed down the remainder of the month. They finished the month even with January pricing.

The most volatile of the segments when it came to February pricing were trucks. But, even though there was an 11-percentage-point decrease in their prices during the second week of February, the average level for the month was consistent with January.

Moving on, OPENLANE also discussed how dealer interest varied from segment to segment.

In particular, it appears dealers shifted their attention more toward trucks and minivans, as interest for SUVs declined and cars were static.

More specifically, minivan interest gained 7 percentage points from the prior month and was 34 percentage points ahead of year-ago levels.

Trucks showed a 5-percentage-point gain in dealer interest compared to January. However, dealer interest in the segment is off 13 percentage points year-over-year.

SUV interest was down 5 percentage points month-over-month and was off 17 percentage points year-over-year.

Meanwhile, dealer interest in cars was relatively static, climbing modestly from the year-ago period and holding steady from January.

Retail Trends

In a new feature for this latest edition of OPENLANE's report, the company is offering a monthly automotive retail update for both the used and new sides of the market.

Specifically, OPENLANE explained that there was a month-over-month dip in used sales during February, but an increase on the new side from the prior month.

Compared to the year-ago period, there was a 1-percent in used sales and a 12-percent rise in new sales.