CARY, N.C. -

Auction sales volume is still extremely soft, but continues to improve, according to J.D. Power Valuation Services.

And there are a number of other positive signs emerging in the auction community, says National Auto Auction Association chief executive officer Frank Hackett.

During the week ending April 19, there were close to 28,000 sales of vehicles up to 8 years old at auctions, compared to 23,500 auction sales the week before and 18,000 the week ending April 5, J.D. Power said in its COVID-19 Valuation Services Update released Friday.

(The company clarifies in its report: “Lagging reported sales for the week ending April 12 added ~4,300 sales to the previously report ~19,200-unit total.”)

Hackett, citing Jonathan Banks of J.D. Power Valuation Services, said in an interview Monday that during the weakest week of the pandemic, auction volume was at 20% of normal volume. On a daily measure, the softest day was April 7, which it dipped to 10%.

But it was at 30% last week, Hackett said.

"We're seeing it climb every week,” said Hackett, who conducts a teleconference call each Monday with leaders from the auction and remarketing industry.

He later added: “People are optimistic that things are improving and we're getting stronger week by week.”

During Monday’s call, Hackett noticed “how everybody's really optimistic about seeing things improving, week over week.”

Many of the comments were about the weekly improvements as well as gains in conversions and activity in California opening back up gradually, Hackett said.

He also mentioned the pricing strength auctions are seeing and that some of them have begun to bring back some employees.

More details on recent auction volumes

The first three weeks of the month showed an 80% year-over-year decline in auction sales volume, according to J.D. Power. That same total marked a 78% decrease from the company’s pre-virus projections.

On a more granular level, consider the actual auction sales volume for the week ending April 19 (about 28,000) compared to the pre-virus projection for that week (104,800).

There have been 160,000 auction sales since mid-March, according to J.D. Power. The pre-virus forecast for this period was 528,000. During the same period of 2019, auction sales volume was at 579,000 units.

But again, things are starting to pick up. In fact, J.D. Power reports that auction sales volumes for most vehicle segments showed growth the week ending April 19, though they still are soft.

“Double-digit gains were recorded for 14 segments across both the mainstream and premium sides of the market. The large pickup, small SUV, and large premium SUV segments experienced volume increases of more than 32% for the week,” J.D. Power said in the analysis. “Only two segments posted declines, specifically the small car and small premium SUV segments where volume fell by 7% and 18% respectively.”