Wholesale prices softened a bit from December 2021

USED VEHICLE PRICE INDEX

Wholesale prices softened a bit from December 2021, which brought the Valuation Services Used Vehicle Price Index down approximately four points to 217.3. January 2022 marked the first time the index declined since the summer of 2021. Wholesale values experienced steady weekly declines in January that accelerated ever so slightly over the second half of the month. Additionally, older vehicles saw more price stability, while newer units experienced slightly larger declines. Despite the small pullback, used prices remain exceptionally strong, and ended the period 59% higher than they were in January 2021.

Wholesale prices at the industry level fell 2% in January, which was one of the softer performances for the industry since 2000. The only time in recent years in which used-vehicle prices declined by more than 2% from the previous month was in January 2019 due to the polar vortex and the government shutdown. During that period, prices fell 2.2%. On the retail side of the market, according to J.D. Power PIN data, used sales at franchised dealers were down approximately 7% from January 2021 and used retail prices fell on a month-over-month basis by nearly 0.5%, which is the first-time used retail prices declined since March 2021. Days to turn for used vehicles held steady at 41 days, which remains very quick and up only one day from its lowest point in the fourth quarter of 2021.