The state of the economy is causing many drivers with car loans to fall behind on payments, according to credit reporting agency TransUnion.

TransUnion’s report finds that the number of car owners whose auto loans have gone past 60 days due or more rose 8.9 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008.

States with the highest rates of delinquency were Mississippi (1.62 percent), California (1.46 percent) and Louisiana (1.37 percent). Bucking the trend were Alaska (0.19 percent), North Dakota (0.34 percent) and Wyoming (0.41 percent) which had the lowest rates.

Although the delinquency rate rose during the end of 2008, the amount Americans owed on car loans actually fell 0.2 percent according to the agency. The average amount of auto loan debt fell to $12,713 during the fourth quarter which TransUnion attributes to the decrease in lending from banks.

Because of the state of the economy, many Americans are turning to used cars to help make ends meet and save some money. But it appears many are also increasing the length of their loans in order to decrease monthly payments. A recent study from Cars.com found that the median length of car loans rose to 60 months in a February survey – up from 48 months in October.

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