WASHINGTON, D.C. -

In the Beige Book report released Wednesday by the Federal Reserve, dealers in a few of the 12 districts talked about how the used-car market was faring in their respective areas during the early part of this year.

What did these dealers have to say?

Starting with the Fourth District (Cleveland), the Fed pointed out that January used-car sales climbed “moderately,” while also touching on the implications of leasing gains in the used market there.

“Leasing continued to trend higher, which should help to replenish the used-vehicle inventory,” the report indicated.

Next up, dealers in the Eighth District (St. Louis) had some concrete used-to-new comparisons to share. The Fed pointed out that 36 percent said their used-car sales climbed in comparison to their respective new-car businesses.

Conversely, the same proportion indicated their new-car sales jumped in comparison to used-car sales.

As for the Second District (New York) the Fed had this to say: “Auto dealers in the Buffalo and Rochester areas report that new vehicle sales were exceptionally strong in January, running 20-30 percent ahead of a year earlier, and have shown continued strength in early February — a marked contrast from December, when sales were sluggish.

“Used-vehicle sales have remained flat recently,” the report continued. “Wholesale and retail credit conditions for auto purchases are reported to be in good shape, and one contact notes that lenders have become more aggressive.”
 

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.