J.D. Power indicates in the auction market the volume of trucks sold last month “was down notably from March, while pricing was up by an equally notable amount. We had expected to see the opposite — a greater volume of trucks sold at somewhat lower pricing.”
The company’s benchmark model for April shows model year (MY) 2016 tractors averaged $43,920, $1,170 (2.7 percent) higher than March; MY 2015 tractors averaged $44,380, $7,780 (21.3 percent) higher than March; MY 2014 tractors averaged $32,178, $2,928 (10.0 percent) higher than March; MY 2013 tractors averaged $24,800, $600 (2.4 percent) lower than March; and MY 2012 tractors averaged $21,714, $2,964 (15.8 percent) higher than March.
J.D. Power reports low sales volume can cause unexpected results in its averages (particular with MY 2015), though the company states it was “still generally surprised by the higher pricing.”
For the first third of 2019, J.D. Power states 4- to 6-year-old trucks in its benchmark model brought 4.9 percent more money than in the same period of 2018. The low volume also reduced average depreciation for the year down below 1 percent per month.
“We still expect pricing to reach parity with 2018 and then turn mildly negative, but that shift is down the road,” J.D. Power says.
As with auction results, J.D. Power says retail pricing also surprised on the upside in April. Dealers sold a moderately lower number of trucks during the month but demand for trucks with average to low mileage is still outstripping supply.
