Average wholesale prices in June were down vs. June but up vs. a year ago. A drill down into the data, however, reveals price softening on a year-over-year basis when accounting for sales type, vehicle age, model class, and mileage, KAR Chief Economist Tom Kontos said today.

According to ADESA Analytical Services’ monthly analysis of wholesale used-vehicle prices, the average wholesale price for a used vehicle in June was $11,067, down 0.7% from May but up 4.7% from a year ago.

"Compact and fullsize pickup trucks and minivans show significant average price gains for the month, while most other model classes registered month-over-month declines or modest increases," Kontos said in his June Kontos Kommentary.

Average wholesale prices for used vehicles remarketed by manufacturers were down 1% month over month and down 1.9% year over year. Prices for fleet/lease consignors were down 1.1% sequentially and up 3.2% annually. Average prices for dealer consignors were up 0.9% vs. May and up 7.7% relative to June 2016.

"Price softening continues to be evident when holding constant for sale type, mode-year age, mileage, and model-class segment," Kontos added. "As the table show, average prices for both of these two bellwether car and truck segments were down by about 4% year over year, reflecting growth in off-lease supply."

Certified pre-owned sales were down 6.6% from May and 0.8% from a year ago, according to Autodata Corp. On a year-to-date basis through June, CPO sales were up 1.2%.