Used Class 8 truck volumes were virtually flat month over month in September, up just 1 percent, according to ACT Research’s most recent State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks report.
Longer-term, volumes rose 51 percent compared to September 2019, and were up 21 percent when measured against the first nine months of last year.
ACT’s preliminary data also indicate average prices increased 2 percent, while average miles rose 1 percent and average age was unchanged, compared with August. Year-to-date, average price, miles and age were all lower, down 14 percent, 3 percent and 8 percent, respectively, compared with the first nine months of 2019.
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“Though expectations were tainted by COVID-19, the used truck market was in decline before that. Interestingly, it is how the economy is recovering from COVID-19 that seems to be driving the surprise gains in the used truck market,” says Steve Tam, ACT Research vice president.
“Consumers have pivoted from spending on many services to spending more on goods and that has led to a very strong freight market and tightening capacity,” Tam says. “Ultimately, this leads to solidification of used truck pricing and although not as good as it was last year, it leads us to say ‘better than expected’ in the used truck market, too.”
ACT’s Classes 3-8 Used Truck Report 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.
