Tim Spencer, group commercial vehicle auctioneer, Manheim Auctions, said: 'The last few weeks has seen large volumes of vehicles from a mixture of vendors. However the market seems to be coping very well. The only real challenge has been the amount of duplicate stock in certain sectors but the vendors who have this issue are being realistic with their pricing and this has helped to keep the market moving. In the past we would have seen a backlog of vehicles and no homes for them.

‘End users are plentiful in the auction halls and traders are reporting that there’s plenty of traffic visiting their retail sites. The word seems to be that as the end of the tax year approaches, those with spare money are being advised to reinvest and for many a replacement van for their business seems like a good investment.

‘As always, late-plate, low-mileage vehicles are in short supply and this is pushing prices way beyond what we would normally expect to achieve. Another flourishing sector of the market is tippers. Each one that comes up for auction is hotly contested, which hopefully suggests that the building industry is finally on the up and that the economy is getting stronger.

‘Not everyone is thriving, though. Some traders we have spoken to are struggling to fill their sites and those who would normally operate with 50+ vehicles for sale are down near the 25 mark, such is the competition at auction at present. The view seems to be that the buoyant market will continue for the next few weeks and the only blip on the horizon is the end of April when the bank holidays all come at once. After that, the market should return strongly until we reach the summer holidays and the seasonal drop-off.’