WASHINGTON, D.C. -

During a reporting period where car sales, in general, were on the incline for the bulk of the country, dealers in several of the Federal Reserve’s 12 districts were noting solid used-car markets.

That’s according to the latest Beige Book report from the Fed, which indicated that the Cleveland, Richmond, St. Louis and San Francisco districts saw stronger used sales.

Starting with Cleveland, dealers in the district are still putting up with high costs to obtain quality used units, but they were treated to a couple positive signs for the used market.

“Used-vehicle purchases rose during the past six weeks,” the Fed noted in the report released Thursday. “Inventory is building as lease rollovers start to come in.”

In the Fifth District (Richmond), dealers also had a stellar performance on the used-car side.

“Used-car sales were exceptionally strong, and some dealers had shortages of used vehicles,” the report indicated.

Sharing some insight on the St. Louis region, the Fed found Eight District dealers’ sales reports to be “generally positive, citing increased sales for new and used cars as well as plans to open new dealership locations.”

Lastly, the San Francisco region posted strong new and used sales, with some dealers gearing up for even more growth this summer.

“New and used automobile sales were robust, and some dealers expanded their inventories in anticipation of a further pickup in summer sales,” the Fed stated in the report.

Another district reporting on the used market was the Second District (New York), where dealers found used sales to be “soft,” due largely to “attractive deals” on the new-car side.

“Wholesale and retail credit conditions for auto purchases remain in good shape,” the Fed reported.
 

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