There was close to $27 billion in used-vehicle sales last month, as dealers and private individuals combined to move 2.38 million used units, according to CNW Research.

The firm reported Sunday that most of the 2-percent year-over-year increase in used unit sales came from franchised dealers, whose numbers were up 4.63 percent.  Private-party sales also climbed (up 3.42 percent), while the independent dealers showed a 1.86-percent dip.

The combined value of all the used cars sold last month was 22.6 percent higher than the total from January 2014, as CNW said the opening figure from 2015 was more than $26.8 billion.

In what CNW says shouldn’t come as a surprise, there wasn’t as much foot traffic on dealership lots as there was in December — in fact, it was down 30 percent. But this is a typical December-to-January pattern, the firm said.

One trend to watch may be the number of consumers leaving their own cities to get a used car.  There was more than a 12-percent year-over-year hike in shoppers buying outside the local market, according to CNW.  

“Consumers continue shopping outside of their local markets in growing numbers, hunting the best deals and specific vehicles, using the Internet to find a specific car or truck,” CNW president Art Spinella said in the analysis accompanying the sales figures.