CHICAGO — TransUnion.com discovered that the national 60-day auto delinquency rate declined between the first and second quarter from 0.83 percent to 0.73 percent. However, the annual delinquency rate was another story.

The company reported that the annual rate climbed 7.35 percent in the second quarter.

"The drop in second-quarter 60-day auto delinquency rate reflects more seasonal patterns rather than a change in the current lending environment," noted Peter Turek, automotive vice president in TransUnion's financial services group.

"On a state-level basis, 42 states experienced a drop in their quarter-to-quarter delinquency rates, while only 10 showed a drop on the year-over-year basis," he added.

Auto loan delinquencies were the highest in Mississippi and Louisiana at 1.29 percent and 1.27 percent, respectively.

Meanwhile, the lowest rates could be found in Alaska at 0.33 percent, North Dakota at 0.37 percent and Wyoming at 0.39 percent.

As for the largest improvements, these were found in the District of Columbia, down 64.1 percent from 1.17 percent, and Alaska, a 50-percent decline from 0.66 percent.

Interestingly enough, the average national auto debt apparently continued to decrease in the second quarter from $12,596 to $12,560.

Additionally, annual year-over-year debt dropped by 2.4 percent, according to TransUnion.com.

The state showing the largest average debt burden was Nevada at $14,900, followed by the District of Columbia at $14,777.

At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest median auto debt could be found in Nebraska at $10,712.

Some states also showed some relatively steep annual increases in debt, these included Michigan, up 2.6 percent; Rhode Island, up 2.21 percent; and Connecticut, up 2.02 percent.

Alaska, on the other hand, displayed the sharpest drop in average debt, down 3.8 percent, followed by Arizona, down 2.66 percent, TransUnion.com indicated.

"As in recent quarters, both the availability of funding (liquidity crisis) in the market, consumer demand for auto financing and tighter lending standards have contributed to a significant decrease in the number of auto loans in the market, resulting in upward pressure on delinquency rates," Turek highlighted.

"As well, the drop in average auto loan debt reflects the maturation of existing loans and the corresponding decreases in new-auto loan originations over the past several months," he continued.

Turek went on to point out that his company's national 60-day delinquency forecast for the second quarter "correctly" predicted a decline, noting that this time of year generally reflects the greatest changes due to seasonality.

"Our current forecasting models indicate that the national 60-day auto delinquency rate will rise to almost 0.90 percent by year-end, which is a 4.65-percent increase over the prior year," Turek explained.

"Although the effects of the government's various stimulus programs seem popular and the auto industry is reporting sales increases or a leveling-off of losses, the weak labor market should continue to negatively impact the consumer into 2010. Additionally, with the recent federal government funded ‘clunkers' program, there is a good possibility that average auto debt will increase in the second half of the year, as new and higher auto loan amounts start showing up on consumer credit files," he added.

TransUnion's overview of U.S. consumer credit statistics:

—Mortgage loan delinquency (the ratio of borrowers 60 or more days past due) increased for the 10th straight quarter, hitting an all-time national average high of 5.81 percent for the second quarter of 2009. Officials noted that this statistic is up 11.3 percent from the previous quarter's 5.22 percent average. For comparison purposes, fourth quarter 2008 to first quarter 2009 saw an increase of almost 16 percent, indicating a continuing deceleration in delinquencies for the second quarter. Year-over-year, mortgage loan delinquency is up by about 65 percent (from 3.53 percent).

—The average national mortgage debt per borrower dropped by 0.86 percent to $193,811 from the prior quarter's figure of $195,500. On an annual basis, the second quarter average represents a 0.59-percent increase over the second quarter of last year when the figure stood at $192,681, officials highlighted.

—Average bankcard borrower debt (defined as the aggregate balance on all bank-issued credit cards for an individual bankcard borrower) drifted downward nationally 0.98 percent to $5,719 from the prior quarter's $5,776. However, executives noted that this figure was up 1.74 percent compared with the second quarter of 2008 when it stood at $5,621.

—The national bankcard delinquency rate (the ratio of bankcard borrowers 90 days or more delinquent on one or more of their bankcards) fell to 1.17 percent in the second quarter, down 11.36 percent over the previous quarter. Year-over-year, bankcard delinquencies increased 12.5 percent from 1.04 percent.