LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -

It’s shaping up to be an unusual spring.

Spring training isn’t the usual buzz because of the labor clash involving Major League Baseball. And Black Book is seeing wholesale values soften, even as IRS data shows a double-digit rise in federal income tax filings that often can fuel what happens in the lanes.

According to Black Book’s Market Insights distributed on Tuesday, overall wholesale prices dropped another 0.78% during the week that closed on Saturday. That’s more than double the average decrease analysts recorded during the same week in 2017 through 2019.

On a volume-weighted basis, the overall car segment decrease was even more than the entire market reading, slipping by another 0.82%, with each of the nine car segments in Black Book’s database dropping.

Of any vehicle category, analysts determined midsize cars posted the largest decline in value, dropping by 1.36%.

Perhaps a glimpse toward tax season prep by dealerships, Black Book noted that values for subcompact cars edged just 0.01% lower last week.

Black Book’s volume-weighted truck data showed prices for the total segment decreased 0.75%, with 12 of the 13 truck categories declining in value.

While analysts said that full-size vans gained in price again, last week’s 0.24% uptick was the smallest for the commercial workhorses since September.

Prices for minivans dropped the most among trucks last week, decreasing by 1.26%, according to Black Book.

So, if Major Leaguers aren’t throwing bullpen sessions or taking batting practice and wholesale values are still on the way down with less than a week left in February, what should dealers be doing when it comes to inventory management?

Here’s what analysts had to say in their latest Black Book report.

“Traditionally around this time of year, we start to see the market slowing in the week-over-week declines and some segments even starting to increase in preparation for the spring market, but not this year, with the overall market declines accelerating,” analysts said.

“As COVID requirements start to change, auction lanes are showing some semblance of normalcy with increased buyers in lane,” they continued. “Auction volume continues to be on the upswing. New-vehicle inventory is popping up, although the semiconductor chip shortage and transportation issues continue to have noticeable impacts.

“OEM remarketer lanes seem to have more lease returns to offer with the occasional repossession and dealers still have a large supply, but rental company lanes overall, are still below normal levels. Floor prices are expected to drop some, at least for MY19 and older models,” analysts went on to say. “All the typical buyers have been seen making bids — large independents, smaller independents, franchise and rental companies — so expect strong competition for desirable units.”

Also of note, Black Book mentioned the estimated average weekly sales rate dropped to 61% last week after a stretch at 62%.

“This is not surprising as wholesale buyers try to anticipate consumer sentiment and wholesale seller behavior,” Black Book said. “Last year, March was when the sales rate significantly picked up — jumping approximately 10% in a month.”