Auto loan delinquency rate stalls at end of 2010

New research released by TransUnion on Wednesday found that the auto loan delinquency rate stalled at the end of 2010, showing only very slight increases in the third and fourth quarters. According to the credit management giant, 60-day auto loan delinquencies inched up 0.58 percent in Q3 2010 and 0.59 percent in Q4 2010. However, the year-over-year drop was much more dramatic, reaching 27.2 percent between the final quarters of 2009 and 2010. "As expected, the national delinquency rate changed very little during the fourth quarter as this period typically exhibits the least amount of seasonality. The good news is that TransUnion expects national auto delinquency rates to continue to be well below the peak of 0.86 percent - a rate experienced during the heart of the recession in the fourth quarter of 2008," said Peter Turek, automotive vice president at TransUnion. Louisiana and Mississippi possessed the highest 60-day delinquency rates, reaching 1.08 percent and 1.04 percent, respectively. North Dakota (0.24 percent) and Michigan (0.34 percent) had the lowest. Residents of Washington, D.C., have the highest average debts ($15,693), while Nebraska residents possess the average lowest debts ($10,998).