Year over year Average Wholesale Pricing (AWP) for July 2014 vs. 2013 continued to see softer prices for all on-highway categories, with cruisers down around two percent. The decline in sport bikes was the largest at eight percent and appears to be due to more inventory available this year vs. last, as well as the timing of OEM rebates and incentives for new models.
Inventory levels for off-road categories (ATVs, MX and Side-X-Sides) remain tight this year, which likely explains the increase in AWP for most of those categories this year vs. last.
AWP in July 2014 for ATVs increased by seven percent over 2013, while AWP for the MX category increased six percent. Side-X-Sides posted a decline of two percent over 2013, which we believe is due to a shift in inventory mix to fewer late model, higher-MSRP models being available.
July vs. Prior Three Months
As expected, wholesale pricing dropped in July vs. the past three months. This is the normal seasonal characteristic for this time of year, and further declines are likely in August and September before stabilizing for the fall.
All product categories trended downward except the dual sport category, which had an increase of six percent due to the relatively tight, but desirable product in the wholesale market.
Metric cruisers posted the biggest drop for the on-highway categories with an 11 percent decrease over the prior months, while domestic cruisers and sport bikes reflected single digit declines. We believe domestic cruisers will decline more precipitously in August and into September, as dealers report more excess inventory than usual this time of year.
The decline in AWP for off-highway categories was in the single digits, which is typical for this time of year. The two most price-volatile categories, snowmobiles and PWCs, both posted sizable decreases of 33 percent and 23 percent respectively, but we consider such large swings to be more a reflection of their volatility than a meaningfully different trend than usual.
All data provided by National Powersport Auctions. For more information, please visit www.npauctions.com or call 888.292.5339.
