The used-vehicle department at franchised dealerships was even more profitable in 2011 than it was in 2010, according to the National Automobile Dealers Association, which released its NADA Data 2012 report on Monday.

The publication – which NADA puts out each year as its state-of-the-industry look at dealer financial trends – showed that net profits from used-vehicle departments moved forward slightly last year, hovering between $100,000 and $150,000 for an average franchised dealer.

This compares to an average of less than $100,000 in 2009 and losses in 2008.

“Net used-car profits improved further in 2011. Dealerships dealt with a shortage of trade-ins caused by lower sales in the recession and recovery years, which increased used-car and used-truck prices,” reads the report.

“Financial institutions offered more attractive rates for used-car purchases because they recognized that used values would remain at higher levels for several years,” it added. “Also, new- and used-vehicle loans are performing relatively well compared with other lending areas, particularly residential real estate. The result: many promotions of attractive financing rates and loan features, as well as attractive lease terms by financial institutions. High used-car prices provide more trade equity for new-vehicle customers.”

Strong used profits were just one of many areas of a dealership covered by the report.

Touching on how dealers found used cars, NADA said that close to three-fifths of the used vehicles retailed last year by franchised dealers were sourced from trade-ins. The report also found that 28 percent of used units retailed in 2011 were acquired by the dealer through an auction.

Meanwhile — breaking down the aforementioned units acquired via trade-in — NADA said dealers grabbed 35 percent of the used vehicles they sold retail through trade-ins on new-vehicle sales and 22 percent through trade-ins on used-vehicle sale.

They turned to street purchases 6 percent of the time and utilized “other” means 9 percent of the time.

Comparing these numbers to a decade earlier, NADA said trade-ins on new vehicle-sales commanded a 39-percent share in 2001, while trade-ins on used sales were at 21 percent. Back then, dealers got 35 percent of the used units they retailed from the auction, and turned to street purchases/other means a combined 5 percent of the time.

These are just some of the many findings illustrated by NADA. Auto Remarketing will have comprehensive coverage in today’s Used Car Manager Weekly e-newsletter and on AutoRemarketing.com.