Black Book said the estimated average weekly sales rate continued to climb, as during the timeframe that concluded on Saturday, it stood at 67%, marking a similar rise they saw last week and “another positive indicator for a spring market.”

Analysts rattled off several more reasons why spring might be germinating in the wholesale market, despite some places still getting snow. Black Book said wholesale values softened just 0.28% last week, only about half of what the downward movement was a week earlier.

And in the latest installment of Market Insights released on Tuesday, analysts said, “a continued lack of new inventory for rental companies, high fuel prices, and tax season are all coming together to change the market declines we’ve been experiencing in recent weeks. This past week, some popular tax season vehicles and fuel-efficient segments reported increases.”

In fact, Black Book indicated three of the nine car segments increased in value last week, as overall car prices on a volume-weighted basis edged just 0.07% lower. That’s coming after a week when cars decreased by 0.52%.

Perhaps not surprisingly in light of gas being above $4 per gallon in most markets, analysts discovered values for sub-compact cars increased for a second week in a row, ticking up 0.10% last week, after the previous week’s increase of 0.07%.

Black Book said prices for compact cars rose, too, with an increase of 0.33%. And values for midsize cars inched up by 0.06%.

Conversely, analysts noted that values for premium sporty car dropped the most within the car segment decline, falling by 0.48% with prices for full-size cars dropping by a similar pace (down 0.44%).

Turning over to truck, again maybe influenced by fuel costs, Black Book said its volume-weighted data showed that overall truck segment values decreased 0.39%, higher than the overall reading but not as much as a prior week’s decrease of 0.51%.

Analysts said 10 out of the 13 truck segments posted value declines. But reversing its course were compact vans, as prices rose 0.34% after seven weeks of declining values.

Black Book added that the small pickup segment also returned to positive territory last week, with a gain of 0.08% after 10 consecutive weeks of declines.

Falling most in value last week among trucks were compact luxury crossovers (down 0.73%) and midsize crossovers (down 0.76%).

So while trees might be budding in some locations, while others still need snow shovels, Black Book wrapped up its latest update with this synopsis.

“While there are new stories of supply chain disruptions popping up daily, it is evident that some new inventory is hitting franchise dealers’ lots as more off-lease vehicles make their way to the auction lanes,” analysts said. “OEMs seem to be anticipating the arrival of new model year launches as announcements of corporate use and company cars have become more popular.

“Recent increased competition among franchise dealers, independent dealers and rental companies has wholesale values in some segments on the upswing again, after several weeks of declines, which is a positive indicator for a somewhat traditional spring market,” they continued. “The vehicles coming through the lanes also appear to be cleaner overall than we have become accustomed to seeing, with less announcements of structural damage, open recalls, engine sludge, etc.

“While the future is unknown, for now, clean used vehicles and the dealers that can acquire them are a hot commodity,” Black Book went on to say.