GAINESVILLE, GA - The second week of December witnessedan overall market improvement with 30-percent of adjustments by Black Book  editors being increases.

"This has been quite a week of auction activity with various react

ions within the market," said Ricky Beggs, VP and managing editor of Black Book. "Some sellers had strong sales percentages with solid values in relation to the set floors, while others were not a successful in moving the metal, quite possibly by intended design."

After blending all the data together, there was enough strength in the values of the selling units that 30 percent of the adjustments made by Black Book editors were increases. Those that did decline for the week averaged a drop of -$125, less than the previous weeks -$147 drop.

According to Beggs, comments from the auction lanes definitely indicated an improvement in the market overall, with descriptive terms like "brisk," "buying additional inventory," and "very active and upbeat."

The car segments continue to be the soft points in the market. The -$68 change this week with the cars was the largest overall decline for the past seven weeks. The Near Luxury Cars (NLC) at -$84 was the lone segment to decline less than the prior week.

Trucks continue to perform better than the cars. The Compact Pickup Trucks (CPT) increased for the week as the trucks overall declined only $37. This improvement was a result of 10 of the 14 truck segment types declining less than the prior week. The Full-size SUV (FSU) was an impressive $69 better than the prior week finishing at -$46.

"With all the variances in the numbers, we must keep in mind that the market this time of the year can be the most unpredictable," cautioned Beggs. "And, this year with the very limited supply of used vehicles in the market, the results might be even harder to understand. The recent flurry of new car sales since the third week of November is at a level we haven't seen for quite some time. Those recent trade-ins could be filling some holes that have been filled from the auction lanes."

Some sellers are holding out for the first of the year auctions with hopefully more aggressive bidders. Some buyers have decided to load up with additional inventory thinking that retail activity will be strong throughout December.

"The bottom line is every player in this business will find a way, their way, to make it happen. By the way, don't forget it is 4x4 season, too," said Beggs.