New-vehicle sales are on track to achieve 16-plus million units for 2001, and used-vehicle sales are moving toward a million-unit increase over 2000. That is according to Pulse, a new quarterly report in ADESA Corp.’s Global Vehicle Remarketing series. Pulse provides a survey and outlook of macroeconomic indicators, and analysis of statistics relating to the $70 billion vehicle remarketing industry. Other conclusions reached in the report: -- Though economic growth has softened, it remains positive, and the recession that appeared so imminent to some analysts has thus far been avoided. -- Consumer spending, though still strong, will be an important indicator to watch considering high consumer debt levels, negative savings rates, and high fuel prices. “I believe the soft landing the Fed has been trying to engineer is being achieved,” said Tom Kontos, vice president, industry relations and analytical services for ADESA, and author of Pulse. “New-vehicle sales remain strong, and dealers continue to make good money selling new and used vehicles. On the downside, returning off-lease volumes, especially for compact SUVs, along with high new-vehicle incentives, are resulting in average price declines at auctions compared to year-ago levels.” Pulse also drills-down ADESA’s auction sales data to provide trends by such market segments as program vehicles, off-lease vehicles, commercial fleet vehicles, and vehicles consigned by dealers. For example, Pulse shows that average prices for 3-year-old, 36,000- to 45,000-mile compact SUVs sold by automotive finance companies at ADESA auctions were down 5.2 percent in April 2001. ADESA plans to mail complementary copies of Pulse to its key clients and industry contacts. To reserve a copy, please contact Tom Kontos, the report’s author, at 1-800-923-3725 x2144 or tkontos@adesa.com.