Chicago – July 09, 2025
A gauge of U.S. used vehicle prices sold at wholesale auctions that proved predictive ahead of the inflation surge following the COVID pandemic is climbing again, last month notching its largest annual increase in nearly three years.
The rise comes amid ongoing vehicle price and sales volatility connected to auto tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump.
The Manheim Used Vehicle Value Index rose 1.6% in June from May on a seasonally adjusted basis and surged 6.3% from a year earlier, the largest year-over-year increase since August 2022, according to data released on Tuesday. At 208.5, the index has been trending upward for a year and is now at its highest since October 2023.
“Wholesale appreciation trends have been more volatile over Q2 as tariffs really impacted new sales and supply, which impacted the used marketplace as well,” said Jeremy Robb, senior director of economic and industry insights at Cox Automotive, which provides the index.
Price pressures typically ease in the second half of the year, but Robb said retail vehicle sales remain “a bit hotter than prior years” and the supply of vehicles coming off lease into the used-car market has been trending downward, “two factors which should be fairly supportive of higher values as we move onward.”
Trump’s 25% tariff on imported autos prompted a surge in new vehicle-buying during the early spring as consumers sought to front-run anticipated price increases from the levies. Sales fell off substantially in May and dropped again in June.
Overall inflation has so far defied the predictions of most economists, but many Federal Reserve officials remain convinced some sort of price surge will follow and are hesitant to cut interest rates until satisfied that risk has passed.
