OPENLANE: Wholesale Prices Soften from October, Year-Ago Level
REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -
In a widespread decline that impacted three out of four major vehicle segments, November’s wholesale pricing saw a 3-percentage-point decline on both a year-over-year and month-over-month level, according to the latest OPENLANE Market Index report.
Specifically, OPENLANE’s U.S. Market Index was 125 for the month, down from 128 in October.
Breaking it down by segment, minivans were up on year-over-year basis and showed a 4-percentage-point sequential gain.
The other three segments declined both sequentially and from a year ago.
Car prices were down year-over-year and were 3-percentage points softer than October.
Prices for SUVs dipped from November 2009 and were 3-percentage-points softer than October.
There was a strong year-over-year decline for truck values, which dipped 11 percentage points on a month-over-month basis.
Moving on to discuss dealer interest, cars were static on a month-over-month basis and climbed 10 percentage points year-over-year, the company indicated.
There was a significant dealer-interest decline for minivans compared to October. However, this segment did show a 35-percentage-point year-over-year gain, officials pointed out.
Dealer interest for SUVs showed a 1-percentage-point sequential gain and a 12-percentage-point dip year-over-year.
Meanwhile, trucks were off modestly month-over-month and fell 18 percentage points compared to the prior year.
Retail Trends
Offering some insight into the retail side of the market, OPENLANE noted that there were 2.5 million used vehicles sold, a 4-percent month-over-month decrease.
New retail sales fell 8 percent to 873,000 units.
“November new- and used-vehicle retail sales continued recent month-over-month declines, diverging from the seasonal upward sales trajectory observed during Q4 of 2008 and 2009,” officials explained.