By the numbers
Prices of used vehicles are ticking up once again in the Midwest after retreating from all-time highs set during the supply chain snarls of 2022, figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show.
As part of tracking inflation, the Bureau of Labor Statistics collects data on the prices of new and used vehicles — cars and light trucks — over time, by region. For statistical purposes, the Midwest includes the states from Ohio to Kansas and as far north as North Dakota.
From the late 1990s until 2020, the price level for new cars hovered between 25 percent and 40 percent higher than in 1983, the BLS’ base year for this price index. Used car prices climbed higher, exceeding 50 percent of the baseline from the mid-1990s until 2002 and again in 2011-2013.
After new and used car prices tracked each other closes from 2016 until the beginning of the pandemic in 2020, used car prices diverged dramatically from the trend in 2021, climbing 19.7 percentage points from May to June. New car prices were also elevated but less so. The spike coincided with supply chain shortages, particularly in microchips, that constrained the supply of new cars, forcing more consumers to turn to the used vehicle market.
By 2024, the price index of new cars stabilized, while the price index for used cars fell. Since the beginning of 2025, however, used car prices have once again begun climbing.
