CARMEL, Ind. — The average wholesale price in August was $10,738, a 0.6% decline from July but a 4.6% increase from a year ago, according to ADESA Analytical Services. The continued strength of trucks was responsible for the year-over-year increase, while while continued weak car sales contributed to the month-over-month decline, the firm's chief economist said.

The truck segment realized the smallest month-over-month decline in wholesale price at 0.2%. The segment ended the month with an average wholesale price of $12,751, a 7.3% improvement from a year ago. Conversely, the average wholesale price in the car segment fell 1.3% from a year ago to $8,675.

The strongest performer in the truck segment was the full-size pickup, with the category's average wholesale price in August rising 0.4% from July and 7.7% from a year ago to $16,141. Nearly all other vehicles in the truck segment, including mini vans, compact SUV/CUV, mid-size SUV/CUV, full-size SUV/CUV, luxury SUV/CUV, and compact pickups, realized year-over-year gains in wholesale pricing.

The only truck segment that did not realize a year-over-year increase in wholesale pricing as the full-size van. The vehicle type, however, did record the highest month-to-month increase in wholesale pricing.

On the other side of the spectrum, nearly all vehicle types in the car segment experienced year-over-year declines in wholesale pricing. The only vehicle type to record a year-over-year increase was the sport car segment, which posted a 4.7% year-over-year increase. On a month-to-month basis, every car segment recorded a decline in wholesale pricing.

“Average wholesale values fell modestly and in line with typical seasonal patterns in August. Prices were again up on a year-over-year basis, largely because of the continued price strength of trucks and a richer mix of younger, lower-mileage, higher-priced, off-lease units,” said Tom Kontos, ADESA’s chief economist. “Retail used-vehicle sales, including CPO sales, also experienced seasonal declines in August, though they remain up year over year.”

August CPO sales were up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis, but down 0.4% from July, according to data from Autodata. And although August data from the National Automobile Dealers Association showed a 3% year-over-year increase in retail used-vehicle sales by franchised dealers and a 4.5% increase for independents, both were down significantly month over month.