by Tyler Durden
Sunday, Jun 06, 2021 - 10:00 PM
Used car prices in the US continue to surge due to both the country s economic recovery and an ongoing supply crunch.
There are two components to watch in the core inflation report due next week. First is, and most importantly, are used car prices and second is the rent of shelter.
Core inflation in April saw a more significant contribution to used car prices pushing inflation upwards of 2% YoY mainly because prices of used vehicles on the month jumped 21% YoY.
For those who haven t seen what is going on in the used car space, here is a chart of the Mannheim used car index:
Last month, Carey Cherner, a 36-year-old used car dealer in Kensington, Maryland, sold a 2001 Ford F-150 pickup truck in less than 12 hours. The mileage is 184,000 miles. It sells for $7,500-50% higher than usual.
Cherner’s experience is not one-off in the US used car market, where prices are rising rapidly. The industry is at the core of the country’s growing inflationary pressures and has therefore become a subject of great interest to policymakers in Washington.
“There are more people buying cars than there are cars on the market, which makes it a little crazy,” Cerner said.
Unusually, officials pay close attention to used car prices as an indicator of future inflation paths. If price increases become entrenched and spread to other parts of the economy, the United States may face prolonged overheating for the first time in decades. Presented a big challenge Economic decision makers at the Federal Reserve and Joe Biden.