Wholesale used vehicle prices decreased 1.04% in September compared to prices the month before, according to Cox Automotive’s latest Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index report.

The wholesale market’s showing last month brought the Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index to 139.9, flat relative to the year before.

Three-year-old vehicles saw noticeably higher depreciation, as aggregate values for these types of vehicles were down 2.6% during September.

“As a result of this higher depreciation, prices in aggregate in non-luxury ended lower than the beginning of the year for the first time since March,” Cox Automotive noted in its most recent Used Vehicle Value Index report.

Jonathan Smoke, Cox Automotive’s chief economist, noted that September’s Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index hit the worst level of the year. Like used values, used-vehicle sales volume was also slightly down in September, he added.

“The question will be if this is an earlier seasonal shift, as we saw last October, or is this the start of a more rapid deceleration in used vehicle values tied to decreasing demand," said Smoke.

Used-vehicle sales volume was down 0.1% year-over-year in September, according to Cox Automotive. New vehicle sales were down 11.3% year-over-year with two fewer selling days compared to September 2018.

Fleet sales continue to support the new-vehicle market, Cox Automotive's report noted. While the overall new-vehicle market is experiencing double-digit declines, commercial fleet channel sales were up 18% year-over-year in September. 

Year-to-date, fleet sales are up 5.8% in September while retail sales are down 2.5%. The overall new-vehicle market is down 1.1% in 2019.