CARMEL, Ind. -

ADESA chief economist Tom Kontos dipped into his vast vocabulary to arrive at an adjective to describe what the company’s latest data indicated about the wholesale market. Kontos came up with a word that might be in your child’s next spelling bee — bifurcated.

According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of wholesale used vehicle prices by vehicle model class, wholesale used vehicle prices in April averaged $10,881 — up 0.8 percent compared to March and up 1.7 percent relative to April of last year.

Kontos said the wholesale market remains “bifurcated,” meaning split or forked, as he pointed out that car prices were lower on both a month-over-month and year-over-year basis while truck prices were higher.

“The traditional spring tax-season market appeared to wane in April, as average wholesale prices rose only modestly on both a sequential and annual basis,” he continued in his latest Kontos Kommentary. “As in previous months, drilling down into the data reveals softness due to supply growth that is not as evident in the top-line numbers.

“On a positive note, retail used vehicle sales rebounded from the March Easter holiday impact, continuing their healthy pattern of absorbing the growing supply without dramatic deterioration in prices,” Kontos added.

ADESA determined that average wholesale prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers softened by 2.8 percent month-over-month and 5.4 percent year-over-year.

Analysts also noticed prices for fleet/lease consignors dipped 0.9 percent sequentially and 3.1 percent annually.

Kontos noted that only dealer consignors saw increases in average prices, registering a 2.7-percent increase versus March and a 2.2-percent uptick relative to April of last year.

Kontos closed by mentioning data from the National Automotive Dealers Association showed a 6.7-percent year-over-year increase in retail used vehicle sales by franchised dealers and a 3.4 percent increase for independent stores in April, and both were up significantly up month over month as sales rebounded from the Easter holiday impact in March.

He added that April certified pre-owned sales were down 4.6 percent month-over-month but were up 8.3 percent year-over-year, according to figures from Autodata Corp.

Kontos shared more assessment of the wholesale market in the video available at the top of this page.

ADESA Wholesale Used-Vehicle Price Trends
   Average  Price  ($/Unit)  Latest  Month Versus
   April 2016  March 2016  April 2015  Prior Month  Prior Year
           
 Total All Vehicles  $10,881  $10,793  $10,703  0.8%  1.7%
           
 Total Cars  $9,056  $9,078  $9,396  -0.2%  -3.6%
 Compact Car  $7,009  $7,050  $7,271  -0.6%  -3.6%
 Midsize Car  $8,137  $8,107  $8,219  0.4%  -1.0%
 Full-size Car  $7,872  $7,803  $8,180  0.9%  -3.8%
 Luxury Car  $13,862  $13,636  $14,214  1.7%  -2.5%
 Sporty Car  $14,424  $14,517  $14,284  -0.6%  1.0%
           
 Total Trucks  $12,835  $12,657  $12,150  1.4%  5.6%
 Minivan  $8,599  $7,939  $8,166  8.3%  5.3%
 Full-size Van  $13,459  $12,769  $12,563  5.4%  7.1%
 Compact SUV/CUV  $11,059  $11,065  $11,111  -0.1%  -0.5%
 Midsize SUV/CUV  $11,625  $11,311  $10,712  2.8%  8.5%
 Full-size SUV/CUV  $13,230  $13,372  $12,195  -1.1%  8.5%
 Luxury SUV/CUV  $19,144  $18,857  $19,015  1.5%  0.7%
 Compact Pickup  $8,678  $8,614  $8,107  0.7%  7.0%
 Full-size Pickup  $15,919  $15,773  $14,595  0.9%  9.1%

Source: ADESA Analytical Services. March revised.