With the help of Jim Tennant of The Tennant Group and Michael Meyer of Rate-Highway Inc., we are conducting rate surveys on a weekly basis and providing analysis and comments where appropriate. We publish this monthly recap in our electronic edition and more comprehensive looks in the print editions.

March rates were down again, but in this case it was less than $1. Easter was a week earlier in 2016 versus 2015, so there may be some fluctuation between March and April in the two-year comparisons.

The Midwest, Southwest, and Northwest regions were all up, but the Northeast continued its large year-over-year declines that we have seen almost every month since late 2014.

Brand pricing continued the pattern we saw last month, although not as pronounced. The three largest brands (Hertz, Avis, and National) were all up in the $3 to $4 range while the smaller five brands were either flat or down.