J.D. Power said Monday morning it has rolled out a Used Vehicle Price Index Service that provides a monthly index monitoring current wholesale used-car prices and forecasting future movement.

The analysis is done on both an industry and segment level.

The company said it can forecast prices as far out as two years. 

“Lenders, manufacturers, insurers, equity analysts and many others with an interest in the automotive industry depend on insights from J.D. Power to make better decisions affecting their bottom line,” Mike Stanton, vice president of valuation services at J.D. Power, said in a news release. “By offering this highly sought-after service, customers will have a new analytical tool to improve profitability.”

In its news release, J.D. Power outlined the key service features of the index service as follows:

• Insight into used-vehicle price performance and how movement could impact business performance
• Index data underpinned by AuctionNet data, representing more than 80% of the nation's auction transactions from Manheim, ADESA, ServNet, ABC and key independent auction houses
• Historical index data since 1995 for models up to 8 years in age
• Forecast index data for the current year and two years ahead, providing insight into future opportunities and risks
• Industry- and segment-level indices

J.D. Power Valuation Services vice president Jonathan Banks added in the release: “Our new used-vehicle price index service can help customers mitigate risk. With the service's forward-looking capability, the guesswork of what could potentially happen to a portfolio or proposed decision is almost taken out of the equation.”

More information on methodology, producing the index, report customizations, service levels and pricing can be found here.