Both auction/wholesale and retail used sleeper market prices trended slightly down last month, J.D. Power announced Wednesday in its September 2017 Commercial Truck Guidelines Industry Update.
In the auction/wholesale market, volumes was up moderately, but overall MY 2011 to 2013 tractor prices were down 1.1 percent month-over-month (2011 and 2013 models, specifically, were down, 2012 tractors were up $371, or 1.5 percent).
J.D. Power says MY 2011 to 2013 remain the main focus of its auction/wholesale pricing model because “volume is still concentrated on those years. Three- and four-year-old trucks are still scarce in the auction lanes.”
Overall, J.D. Power writes the average sleeper tractor sold wholesale in July was 75 months old, had 533,018 miles and sold for $28,212. Compared to June, these most recent trucks were 12 months older, had 19,230 more miles and sold for $57 less money. Compared to July 2016, these trucks were 9 months newer, had 85,384 fewer miles and sold for $1,493 less money.
The month-over-month story in the retail market also mirrored last month’s report. J.D. Power says used trucks sold at retail “continue to bring moderately less money this year than last, but monthly depreciation remains milder.”
The average used sleeper tractor retailed in July was 75 months old, had 454,014 miles, and sold for $47,568. Compared to June, the average sleeper was 1 month older, had 10,610 more miles, and sold for $293 less money. And compared to July 2016, the average sleeper was 3 months older, had 20,823 fewer miles, and sold for $3,164 less money. J.D. Power says overall, the Class 8 retail sleeper market has averaged 8.7 percent lower pricing during the first seven months of 2017 compared to the same period last year.
Breaking the market’s largest cohort down by year, J.D. Power says 3-year-old trucks averaged $73,912 in July, a $1,468 increase over June. Four- and five-year-old trucks averaged $54,089 and $44,624, respectively, which were down $3,570 and $616 compared to the previous month.
Locationally, J.D. Power says rooftop sales rates slipped from 5 to 4.9 trucks per rooftop last month, while from a brand perspective, the Peterbilt 579, Kenworth 680, Volvo VNL 730/780 and Freightliner Cascadia continue to “outperform the market average.”
The biggest price drop for the industry came in the medium-duty market. J.D. Power says Class 3-4 cabover prices dropped notably due to older trucks on the road, but adds that “the dramatic drop is somewhat misleading, since the calculation was impacted by an imbalance in model years. Pricing by model year was similar to last month.”
And that pricing was an average of $13,941 in July, which was $3,672 lower than June and $928 lower than July 2016.
The conventional market was mixed in July. Pricing for lighter-GVW trucks dropped moderately, while heavier trucks were essentially unchanged.
J.D. Power also notes Class 4 trucks lost 1.4 percent of their value over the first seven months of 2017, which is slightly behind 2016 numbers. Class 6 trucks had a 3.2 percent monthly depreciation total, which is favorable to last year’s 4.5 percent over the same period.
In forecasting ahead, J.D. Power says “auction activity remains busy, with pricing holding up relatively well. Retail pricing remains mildly lower than last year, but depreciation has slowed.
“Uncertainty in tax and spending policy should be the major factor impacting new and used truck demand through the end of the year.”
To read a complete copy of this month’s report, please CLICK HERE.
