According to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research, used Class 8 volumes (same dealer sales) were 1 percent lower month-over-month. Longer term, volumes were down 5 percent year over year, but up 20 percent year to date. Average prices were 5 percent higher compared to May and 51 percent more expensive than in June 2020, while average miles were 5 percent lower M/M and Y/Y. Average age was unchanged from May, but down 3 percent compared to June 2020.
The report from ACT provides data on the average selling price, miles, and age based on a sample of industry data. In addition, the report provides the average selling price for top-selling Class 8 models for each of the major truck OEMs – Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo).
“Used Class 8 same dealer sales continued to face challenges in June, though they nearly reached parity with May, slipping just 1 percent,” said Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. He continued, “Sales typically increase about nine percentage points from May to June, so they moved counter to expectations, sometimes a precursor signaling impending change. Additionally, anecdotes suggest used truck inventory continued to contract in June, increasing pressure on both sales and pricing.”
Looking at the different sales channels for used Class 8 vehicles, Tam commented, “Channel results remained mixed in June, with the auction segment declining in all three time periods. Conversely, the retail markets showed improvement for all comparisons. Wholesale transactions improved in the short term, but were weaker longer term.”
He concluded, “Discussions we have had with dealers during the past month have centered on price and availability. Circumstances are forcing dealers and buyers to pay not only way more than normal for trucks, but way more than they want to pay. While we do not know when the market will turn, we note that underlying fundamentals suggest that the market transition will be more orderly, absent the popping of any bubbles like in some previous cycles.”