| -

GAINESVILLE, Ga. — In what Black Book's Ricky Beggs called a "very active week" for the company's editors, the frequency of wholesale value adjustments hit a two-month high, and the auction market continued to move in an increasingly positive direction.

"As the editors returned from the auctions this past week they were more upbeat about the activity while also seeing fewer no sales on the block," he commented during the latest "Beggs on the Used Car Market" video report.

"The used-market continues to be a very key component in the auto industry, thus the strength in values and amount of activity," he added. "I just spent a few days in Detroit and was sure glad to see more upbeat views and news regarding quality levels, along with some exciting new products coming to market in the near future."

Looking at the market in more detail, Beggs — Black Book's managing editor — said an average of 1,826 units were adjusted per day last week, which marked the highest daily adjustment level since an average of 2,237 adjustments were made each day the week that ended March 19.

Moreover, the daily adjustment average from last week was a 169-percent uptick from the week before, when 1,083 adjustments per day were made.

Not to mention, the direction of the adjustments moved upward, as a "solid" half of them were positive changes with an average upswing of $106. The prior week, 43 percent of the adjustments were positive changes.

As far as the negative adjustments last week, the overall decrease was "slightly" more pronounced.

However, the overall change improved from a dip of $29 to a decline of only $10.

Diving into vehicle types, each of the 10 car segments that Black Book tracks showed declines. This marked the third straight week this has happened, according to Beggs.

The change in car values remained static with an overall decline of $34. Showing the smallest decline were near luxury cars (down $9), while prestige luxury cars showed the heaviest drop (down $129), marking the third straight week they have had the biggest decrease of the 10 car types.

Moving over to the truck side of the market, the average change also was static from the prior week, as it remained a decrease of $29, Beggs pointed out.  Among the 14 segments Black Book monitors, five showed value gains.

The segment with the strongest upswing was the full-size pickup category, which climbed $55 and has shown back-to-back weeks of improvement.

Conversely, full-size crossover prices dropped $169. This marked the fourth time in five weeks that the value softening in this segment has been greater than $102, Beggs pointed out.

"This is not a large segment with only 10 players, but one that has grown since the addition of most models since 2007, and has had some pretty strong retention levels as many buyers have switched from the full-size SUVs," he explained. "Even with the recent weakness overall, those trim levels at the top with all the equipment, still do better than the overall segment."

Continuing on, Beggs also shared a bit about other vehicle markets.

"For motorcycle and scooter riders across the country today, June 21 is the 19th annual Ride to Work Day. We hope you had the opportunity to commute on two wheels and had a safe ride," Beggs said Monday.

"For those of you who deal in the powersports and motorcycle markets or as an auto dealer who gets a chance to occasionally take one in on trade, the monthly updated Black Book Official Motorcycle and Powersports Guide, in printed and various electronic solutions, is a great tool for your business," he added. "Next week we will give you an update on that market and the values."