Black Book, a division of Hearst Business Media that provides industry-leading used vehicle valuation and residual value forecast solutions, released its Used Vehicle Retention Index for September, with the Index increasing from 112.6 to 113.9, its largest month-over-month gain since March 2012. Click here to obtain a copy of the latest index data.

The Black Book Used Vehicle Retention Index is calculated using Black Book’s published Wholesale Average value on two- to six-year-old used vehicles, as percent of original typically-equipped MSRP. The Index offers an accurate, unbiased view of the strength of today’s used vehicle market values.

Hurricane Harvey caused major flooding throughout parts of Texas, resulting in an estimated up to 500,000 cars and trucks needing to be replaced. The replacement process began in September, with Compact Cars (+2.8%), Compact Crossover SUVs (+2.4%), Full-size Cars (+2.5%), and Mid-size Cars (+2.3%) each seeing significant month-over-month increases within the Index.

"We certainly anticipated a near-term increase in the Index in last month's report, and with the storm replacement activity kicking in we believe this activity will continue in the next month but not much longer," said Anil Goyal, Senior Vice President of Automotive Valuation and Analytics for Black Book. "We saw a nice bump in several car segments, and we also anticipate several truck segments to see increases as well, especially with the demand for service and construction vehicles. It was interesting that mainstream car segments and compact SUVs experienced the largest increase in immediate replacement demand.”

The Index dates back to January 2005, where Black Book published a benchmark index value of 100.0 for the market. During 2008, the index dropped by 14.1% while during 2016, the index fell by just 6.4%. During 2011, the index rose strongly from 113.3 to 123.0 by the end of the year as the economy picked up steam and used vehicle values rose higher. It continued to remain relatively stable, rising slightly until May of 2014 when it hit a peak of 128.1.

To obtain a copy of the latest Black Book Wholesale Value Index, please click here. 

About Black Book

Black Book® is best known in the automotive industry for providing timely, independent and accurate vehicle pricing information, and is available to industry-qualified users through online subscription products, mobile applications and licensing agreements. A leading provider since 1955, Black Book has continuously evolved to ensure that it achieves its goal of delivering mission-critical information to its customers, along with the insight necessary to successfully buy, sell, and lend. Black Book data is published daily by National Auto Research, a division of Hearst Business media, and the company maintains offices in Georgia, Florida, and Maryland as well as the Canadian Black Book in Toronto. For more information, please visit BlackBook.com or call 800.554.1026.