On Monday, Black Book announced another regular analysis offering covering the wholesale market — the Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index — saying this product is designed to offer an “unbiased, accurate” view of the strength of today’s used wholesale market values.

Editors explained the Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published wholesale average value on 2- to 6-year-old used vehicles as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. Black Book’s wholesale average is a benchmark value for used vehicles selling in the wholesale auctions with the vehicle quality in average condition. The index is weighted based on used vehicle registration volume and adjusted for seasonality, vehicle age, mileage, condition, segment mix, and inflation (MSRP).

Aggregated from daily vehicle value updates, and captured throughout hundreds of wholesale physical and online auto auctions across the country, the company went on to note the Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is designed to represent data across all regions of the U.S. The index is based on a comprehensive list of vehicles included in the Black Book wholesale database, and includes no bias toward any brand, auction or region, ensuring a more accurate reporting of the used vehicle market.

The Index dates back to January 2005, three years prior to the beginning of the economic recession, where Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. In March of this year, the index reading came in at 115.9, indicating a 16-percent increase in used vehicle retention strength since 2005.

That being said, editors pointed out the index has fallen steadily since October 2015, when the index registered a score of 127.0. This recent trend illustrates a continued, slow weakening of the used-vehicle market as a result of cresting demand and increased supply in the used market.

As more 2- to 6-year vehicles return to the market in the coming years, Black Book said this index can provide an overall measurement of strength/weakness in wholesale used vehicle value retention. During the recessionary period, the index experienced a sharp drop of about 14 percent from Jan. 2008 to Jan. 2009.

In 2010, the index recovered nicely and gained 10 percent during the year. After the recession, the index continued to rise persistently until 20111 and remained high till 2015. The index lost 6 percent in 2016.

Black Book added the index is expected to continue its slow decline in 2017 as the used-vehicle market loses strength.

When broken down by segments, the index shows some interesting trends, especially comparing two contrasting vehicle segments.

Compact car values have continued to decline sharply during the last two years due to the lack of consumer demand and higher supply for these vehicles.

On the other hand, full-size SUV index values are currently near all-time high.

“Automotive professionals today base critical, profit-dependent decisions on accurate, unbiased data that offers clear insight into the market,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics at Black Book. “The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index represents the industry’s guide into the strength of the market, with no bias.”

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, go to this website.