Used Class 8 retail sales fell 19 percent month-over-month from in October, a final report from ACT Research says. The preliminary findings, released last week, showed a 10 percent drop for October.
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"Used truck sales typically see a moderate increase in October, relative to September, so the decline was counter to expectations," says Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research. "Used Class 8 retail truck sales for October were meaningfully weaker for longer-term comparisons."
Year-to-year, used Class 8 sales were down 42 percent. Average mileage stayed flat and price was down 2 percent. Longer term, price was up 15 percent year-over-year.
"The near-term drop may foreshadow further softening of demand brought on by a general economic slowdown," Tam adds. "We believe broader weakness will be lead, at least in part, by reduced manufacturing output and the resultant reduction of freight. Supply conditions appear to be improving, albeit at the margin. New truck production rates have been higher in the past several months, as has sales activity. There also appears to have been a corresponding uptick in the number of used trucks in inventory."