Commercial consignor sales volumes at auctions are still beating prior-year numbers by double-digit percentages, but the growth rate in August was about half of what it was from January through July.

That’s according to analysis around the latest AuctionNet data provided to Auto Remarketing by the National Auto Auction Association, which indicates that overall auction sales are up close to 9% through eight months of 2024.

When adjusting for selling days, commercial vehicles sales at auction climbed 14% year-over-year in August, NAAA said. However, the average year-over-year growth in the first seven months of 2024 was 28%.

Still, year-to-date commercial volumes are up 27%.

Overall, there were 593,285 vehicle sales at auction last month, which NAAA said was up 5% month-over-month and basically unchanged from August 2023, on an unadjusted basis. Adjusting for one less selling day this year, however, auction sales climbed 4.6% year-over-year in August.

There have been 4.6 million auction sales through eight months of the year, which beats the year-ago figure by 8.8%.

While commercial sales rose 14% year-over-year in August, dealer sales fell 0.4%, NAAA said. There has been a 2% drop in dealer sales through eight months of the year.

Looking at age groups, 4- to 6-year-old vehicles showed a 1% decline year-over-year in August, but the rest of the age groups climbed 6%, when adjusting for selling days. Compared to July, the most significant change was for 7- to 10-year-old vehicles (up 7%), with the rest of the contingent up 5%, NAAA said.

Note: This is part of a monthly series in which Auto Remarketing shares AuctionNet data and commentary provided by the National Auto Auction Association.

As noted by the organization, more than 260 NAAA member auctions power AuctionNet, making it the most comprehensive source of wholesale auto auction sales data in the U.S. Unless otherwise noted, auction sales figures are based on total reporting auctions, the number and composition of which may vary over time. 

AuctionNet® Wholesale Auction Results
August-24
Total Unit Sales
Aug-23 Aug-24 % Change
Overall Market 593,177 593,285 0.0%
Compact Car 67,646 60,345 -10.8%
Compact Crossover/SUV 83,822 85,626 2.2%
Compact Luxury Crossover/SUV 12,044 14,042 16.6%
Full-Size Pickup 74,213 77,382 4.3%
Luxury Car 33,097 33,331 0.7%
Mid-Size Car 72,577 67,725 -6.7%
Mid-Size Crossover/SUV 84,062 87,461 4.0%
Mid-Size Luxury Crossover/SUV 19,387 20,403 5.2%
Electric Vehicles 6,915 10,322 49.3%

SOURCE: National Auto Auction Association/AuctionNet