CARMEL, Ind. -

If someone lost a pickup to one of the hurricanes earlier this year, KAR Auctions Services chief economist Tom Kontos suspects you might might be part of what's helping to prop up prices for similar late-model vehicle segments.

Kontos explained his thinking as ADESA Analytical Services shared its monthly analysis of wholesale used-vehicle prices by vehicle model class. Kontos relayed that wholesale used-vehicle prices in October averaged $10,977, which was down 0.6 percent compared to September and up 4.2 percent relative to October of last year.

Kontos mentioned in his latest edition of Kontos Kommentary — which also can be viewed here or through the window at the top of the page — prices were flat or down on a month-over-month basis for all model class segments, but were up year-over-year for all but full-size cars.

“Average wholesale prices in October were down only modestly month-over-month and were up year-over-year, bolstered by lingering impacts from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma,” Kontos added.

Continuing the impact of those storms, Kontos shared that wholesale prices for 3-year-old midsize SUVs and CUVs with about 36,000 to 45,000 miles rose by more than $1,000 or 5.7 percent year-over-year in October.

“Strong truck demand in Texas in the aftermath of Harvey may be a contributing factor to the strength of midsize SUV/CUV prices,” Kontos said.

Elsewhere within the wholesale space, Kontos noted that average wholesale prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers ticked up 0.6 percent month-over-month and were up 5.7 percent year-over-year in October.

The KAR chief economist added that prices for fleet/lease consignors softened 1.6 percent sequentially but climbed 4.5 percent annually.

Kontos closed by stating average prices for dealer consignors dipped 0.3 percent versus September but shot up by 7.5 percent relative to October of last year.

ADESA Wholesale Used-Vehicle Price Trends

   Average  Price  ($/Unit)  Latest  Month Versus
   October 2017  September 2017  October 2016  Prior Month  Prior Year
           
 Total All Vehicles  $10,977  $11,046  $10,530  –0.6%  4.2%
           
 Total Cars  $8,713  $8,777  $8,504  –0.7%  2.5%
 Compact Car  $6,581  $6,681  $6,388  -1.5%  3.0%
 Midsize Car  $7,849  $7,788  $7,362  0.8%  6.6%
 Full-size Car  $7,117  $7,243  $7,506  -1.7%  -5.2%
 Luxury Car  $13,640  $14,016  $13,425  -2.7%  1.6%
 Sporty Car  $13,928  $13,906  $13,135  0.2%  6.0%
           
 Total Trucks  $13,087  $13,183  $12,464  -0.7%  5.0%
 Minivan  $8,774  $9,061  $8,294  -3.2%  5.8%
 Full-size Van  $13,086  $13,165  $12,717  -0.6%  2.9%
 Compact SUV/CUV  $10,635  $10,679  $10,487  -0.4%  1.4%
 Midsize SUV/CUV  $11,276  $11,424  $11,143  -1.3%  1.2%
 Full-size SUV/CUV  $13,838  $13,742  $13,725  0.7%  0.8%
 Luxury SUV/CUV  $19,068  $19,209  $18,313  -0.7%  4.1%
 Compact Pickup  $9,371  $9,591  $8,426  -2.3%  11.2%
 Full-size Pickup  $16,644  $16,963  $15,225  -1.9%  9.3%

Source: ADESA Analytical Services. September data revised.