OPENLANE: Wholesale Prices Drop for First Time This Year

November 19, 2009

Email this story Printer Friendly Version

MENLO PARK, Calif. — After hitting their 2009 peak early in the month, wholesale prices slowed down in October, marking the first decline of the year, according to the latest OPENLANE Market Index.

Specifically, wholesale values across the board dropped from their September levels, officials noted.

Car values dipped steadily throughout the month before leveling in the fourth week, while minivans climbed to an apex in week two before falling sharply the remainder of October.

For most of the month, SUV prices were stable before declining toward the end. In week two, truck values dropped before stabilizing in the final three weeks.

OPENELANE also broke down pricing by model year, a new feature in the index, by comparing one- and two-year models from 2009 with how one- and two-year-old vehicles performed in October 2008.

More specifically, prices for 2008 model-year units have been lower than the January 2009 baseline for the entirety of 2009, eventually hitting a bottom in June and climbing slowly since then.

Meanwhile, last year, the values of 2007 model-year units hit their apex in September, before falling. Values of these one-year-old vehicles finished 7 percentage points below the January 2008 baseline.

For 2007 model-year and older units in 2009, pricing has been steady all year long and has remained higher than or equal to the January baseline, officials noted. However, these models have begun a downward trend in the fourth quarter.

OPENLANE pointed out that last year, 2006 model-year vehicles were below the January baseline all year long with the exception of September, and were 22 percentage points off the baseline at the end of the year.

Values for 2005 model-year and older units, however, stayed at or ahead of the January 2008 baseline at the beginning of the year. That said, the prices of these units would eventually trend downward, falling 20 percentage points below the baseline by year's end.

Moving on to discuss dealer interest, segment results were somewhat mixed.

For cars, interest was down moderately from September, but was up 3 percentage points year-over-year.

Dealer interest in minivans fell 6 percentage points on a monthly basis, but was 33 percentage points ahead of October 2008.

For SUVs, dealer interest jumped 4 percentage points from September, but was off modestly from a year ago.

Meanwhile, dealer interest in trucks improved 4 percentage points month-over-month. However, it declined 24 percentage points year-over-year.

Auction/Wholesale