Wholesale used-vehicle prices rose to all-time highs across Australia in June. Following a record-breaking monthly increase in May, June doubled down on the historic gains. Used vehicle prices were up 11% from May to June and a mind-boggling 23% from the lows reached in April, according to the Datium Insights–Moody’s Analytics Price Index (see Chart 1 below).
Key points from the attached report are as follows –
Australian wholesale used vehicle prices are up 23% from the lows reached in April.
Wholesale prices rose only 23% from the depths of the 2008-2009 global financial crisis to the beginning of 2020.
Demand for vehicles remained high as the economy re-opened in earnest and public transportation remains an unattractive option.
Both new and used vehicle supply remains low, pushing up prices of available inventory.
Price decreases are expected over the next two quarters.
Prices will be pushed down because of more vehicles reaching the market and labor market concerns sapping consumer demand.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
