CARMEL, Ind. -

ADESA Analytical Services found the same year-over-year wholesale price declines for both April and May.

The company’s monthly analysis of used values by vehicle model class showed  wholesale prices in May averaged $9,811 — down 2.8 percent compared to April and 4.5 percent relative to May.

ADESA pointed out the 4.5 percent year-over-year decline matched April’s drop.

“The softening wholesale pricing environment that we have been prognosticating and reporting in this column for quite some time continued in May with prices falling again on a year-over-year basis as they did in February, March and April when the price-elevating impacts of Superstorm Sandy subsided,” ADESA’s Tom Kontos said.

“Unlike the previous three months, however, prices fell on a month-over-month basis, indicating that the spring/tax season is winding down, or already has,” Kontos continued.

"Still, retail sales of new, CPO and used vehicles in May were impressive and, as this translates into demand for returning supplies of used vehicles, will cushion the fall in used-vehicle values,” he went on to say.

Unlike April, ADESA determined, the softening price environment in May did not appear to discriminate between cars, crossovers, SUVs and trucks as all these groups saw losses in value whereas SUVs showed some price strength in April.  
"One notable exception is full-size pickups (up 0.1 percent month-over-month and 5.2 percent year-over-year), which appear to be benefitting from an improving home construction market,” Kontos said.

Analysts indicated May prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers were up 1.6 percent month-over-month but down 4.5 percent year-over-year.

Prices for fleet/lease consignors softened 2.1 percent sequentially and dipped 1.2 percent annually. 

ADESA also mentioned dealer consignors saw a 2.4 percent average price decrease in May versus April 2013 and a 5.0 percent downturn versus May of last year.

Based on data from CNW Research, Kontos pointed out retail used-vehicle sales were down 2.3 percent year-over-year for franchised dealers and 7.2 percent for independent dealers in May, although both dealer types saw double-digit month-over-month increases.

Kontos also highlighted sales of certified pre-owned vehicles in May climbed 6.1 percent month-over-month and 19.2 percent year-over-year, based on figures from Autodata Corp. To illustrate its data in more detail, ADESA provided the following chart:

ADESA's Wholesale Used-Vehicle Price Trends
   Average  Prices  ($/Unit)  Latest Month  Versus:
   May 2013  April 2013  May 2012  Prior Month  Prior Year
           
 Total All Vehicles  $9,811  $10,096  $10,271  -2.8%  -4.5%
           
 Total Cars  $8,946  $9,195  $9,421  -2.7%  -5.0%
 Compact Cars  $7,097  $7,265  $7,588  -2.3%  -6.5%
 Midsize Cars  $8,207  $8,512  $8,527  -3.6%  -3.8%
 Full-size Cars  $7,254  $7,642  $7,604  -5.1%  -4.6%
 Luxury Cars  $12,227  $12,249  $12,952  -0.2%  -5.6%
 Sporty Cars  $12,864  $13,048  $13,369  -1.4%  -3.8%
           
 Total Trucks  $9,774  $9,935  $10,119  -1.6%  -3.4%
 Minivans  $6,571  $6,959  $7,546  -5.6%  -12.9%
 Full-size Vans  $9,839  $10,089  $9,589  -2.5%  2.6%
 Mini SUVs  $11,050  $11,415  $10,993  -3.2%  0.5%
 Midsize SUVs  $7,180  $7,377  $7,367  -2.7%  -2.7%
 Full-size SUVs  $10,598  $10,973  $12,552  -3.4%  -15.6%
 Luxury SUVs  $18,697  $18,379  $19,452  1.7%  -3.9%
 Compact Pickups  $7,444  $7,579  $7,795  -1.8%  -4.5%
 Full-size Pickups  $11,905  $11,899  $11,314  0.1%  5.2%
           
 Total Crossovers  $12,949  $13,498  $13,675  -4.1%  -5.3%
 Compact CUVs  $11,478  $11,999  $11,462  -4.3%  0.1%
 Midsize/Full-size CUVs  $14,498  $15,003  $16,276  -3.4%  -10.9%

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