SANTA MONICA, Calif. -

As May came to close, new- and used-car sales predictions for the month flowed in. Most all of the reports showed positive year-over-year and monthly growth, with automakers expected to see double-digit sales increases right and left.

Edmunds.com predicts that an estimated 3.14 million used cars will be sold in May, for a SAAR of 36.8 million, down slightly from April, when used-car sales came in at 3.26 million — or a SAAR of 3.72 million.

TrueCar.com analysts predicted used-car sales to come in at 3.35 million, with an estimated ratio of new to used of 1:3 for May.

As for new-car sales, Edmunds.com forecasted that 1.4 million new cars and trucks would be sold in the U.S. in May for an estimated SAAR for the month of 15.1 million vehicles.

These predictions would mark a 10.6 percent increase from April and a 6.5 percent increase year-over-year.

"May sales quickly chased away any of last month's concerns that the auto recovery is stalling," Edmunds.com senior analyst Jessica Caldwell said. "This quick rebound is just another example of how the auto industry is currently one of the most resilient areas of the overall economy."

Over at TrueCar, analysts are predicting similar rates.

“For May 2013, new light vehicle sales in the U.S. (including fleet) is expected to be 1,435,495 units, up 8.5 percent from May 2012 and up 12.1 percent from April 2013 (on an unadjusted basis),” TrueCar.com officials reported.

This translates to a SAAR of 15.2 million new-car sales, up 14.9 percent from April and 13.9 percent year-over-year.

For retail sales, specifically, Edmunds.com predicted the SAAR will reach 12.2 million vehicles in May, with fleet transactions accounting for 18.9 percent of total sales.

Similarly, over at J.D. Power, according to a monthly sales forecast developed by J.D. Power & Associates' Power Information Network and LMC Automotive, new-vehicle retail sales in May are projected to come in a 1.2 million vehicles, which represents a seasonally adjusted annualized rate SAAR of 12.5 million units.

The company explained this is the highest level seen since January, “and will be the third consecutive month with retail sales in excess of 1 million units.”

TrueCar.com shared that its data showed new-car retail sales are projected to be almost six percent higher compared to May 2012 and up 12 percent from April of this year.

Large Pickup Demand Pushing Sales Increase

Both J.D. Power and TrueCar cite increased demand for large pickups as one of the reasons behind strong U.S. Auto sales.

"Full-size truck sales continue to gain momentum in May and we expect the segment to post a 22 percent increase compared to the nearly nine percent industry increase," said Jesse Toprak, senior analyst for TrueCar.com."Stability in the industry is now the norm, which is a positive for automakers as it results in the ability to optimize production levels, therefore improving profitability."

J.D. Power analysts explained that during the first three weeks of May, full-size trucks accounted for 11.4 percent of the industry's retail sales (new vehicles sold at dealerships).

“Stronger large pickup sales are helping keep the industry's average transaction prices at record levels, too, since many full-size pickups — in particular heavy-duty trucks — carry price tags that approach or even exceed $40,000,” J.D. Power explained.

And throughout May, dealers have seen auction prices for these trucks in high demand rise in the lanes. NADA Used Car Guide AuctionNet data showed in mid-May that though auction prices were on the way down for most segments, full-size pickup trucks stood out as one of the few exceptions.

According to NADA Used Car Guide’s May edition of Guidelines, through the first four months of this year, prices for this segment are up almost 7 percent.

For more on auction prices for full-size pickup trucks, see the Auto Remarketing story here.

Sarah Rubenoff can be reached at srubenoff@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.