Black Book spots slow week for auctions

Several auction sites throughout the U.S. had a tough week last week, according to Black Book’s weekly Market Insights report.
A Black Book auction spotter in Texas bemoaned sluggish conditions in that market. “Even trucks were slow today, which is uncommon here,” he said.
In Florida, a Black Book rep reported lots of no sales in the rental and lease lanes, with sellers struggling to get the prices they wanted.
Things were much the same in Tennessee, where “a lot of no sales” made for a tough day for dealers.
Elsewhere in that state, a lane watcher observed “a lot of no-sales in the high line lanes today but the overall market trend is still good.”
Things were sunnier in California, where there was “plenty of consignment … with pickups and SUVs leading demand.”
As far as used-vehicle values, car segments depreciated at a slower rate (0.57 percent) last week than the rate of 0.72 percent seen in the previous four weeks (volume-weighted).
Compact cars, sporty cars and subcompact cars declined the most at 1.22 percent, 1.06 percent and 0.86 percent, respectively.
“Small cars continue to experience higher depreciation levels. Sporty cars have shown high declines in the last four weeks, in line with the seasonal trend,” said Anil Goyal, senior vice president of automotive valuation and analytics at Black Book.
Volume-weighted, truck segments declined by 0.36 percent, lower than the depreciation rate of 0.58 percent seen in the previous four weeks.
Compact vans and compact luxury crossovers/SUVs declined the most by 1.65 percent and 1.32 percent, respectively.
The report noted the gas prices have remained stable during the past six months at around $2.30. Prices during the past 12 months, meanwhile, have been lower than during the previous year.