Biggest Mess I’ve Ever Seen: Used-Vehicle Wholesale Prices Spike to Ridiculousness. Just Wait till they Hit CPI Again

Supply suddenly jumps, Thanksgiving weekend gets credited.

By Wolf Richter for WOLF STREET.

Prices of cars and trucks sold at auctions around the US jumped another 3.9% in November from October, according to Manheim, the largest auto auction operator in the US. These crazy prices have now spiked by 44% from the already sky-high levels in November 2020.

But underlying market dynamics began to soften just a tad in November from the white-hot activity in October, and Manheim figured that auto dealers “remained more aggressive in buying than is typically the case in the fall, but were less aggressive than in October.” In October, prices had spiked month-to-month by the most ever (9.2%). So slightly less extremely crazy?