Wholesale used vehicle prices rose for the sixth month in a row in October, increasing by 1.02%, according to Manheim’s October Used Vehicle Value Index. This brought the index to 136.3, an 8.1% rise from a year ago.

All major market segments saw gains, however, SUVs/CUVs, pickups, and vans have led the pack. As has been the case for the months following Hurricanes Irma and Harvey, post-hurricane recovery was a boon for wholesale market values in October.

“Replacement demand combined with reduction in available supply has caused wholesale inventories to tighten. The impact to the wholesale market was widespread, resulting in abnormal wholesale price gains for another month,” the Manheim report stated.

Used car sales improved by 3% year-over-year in October, according to Cox Automotive estimates. Most of that retail growth has originated from the sale of vehicles less than 4 years old, which is the age range that represents the largest age segment of vehicles in the used car market, Manheim noted.

Looking at new vehicle sales, October sales volume fell 1% year-over-year. While this represented a year-over-year decline, the month's sales were strong comparative to the rest of 2017, Manheim added. And, as has been the case for much of the year, car sales continue to slack as light truck sales continue to grow.

Fleet sales were up 4% in October, however, lagging fleet sales throughout the rest of the year puts year-to-date fleet sales 9% below the same time last year.