ACT Research announced this week Class retail volumes (same dealer sales) finished down 2 percent month over month in December. This was a slight reduction in volume over preliminary data.
Longer term, volumes were down 28 percent year over year but up 7 percent year to date. ACT Research adds average prices were 2 percent higher compared to November, 66 percent more expensive than in December of 2020, and 40 percent greater year to data.
“Used Class 8 same dealer retail sales volumes finished 2021 on a low note, dropping below the 4,000-unit mark for the first time in 20 months,” says Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research.“Positively, retail dealers were able to sell 7 percent more units in 2021 vs. 2020, putting COVID farther into the review mirror.”
Average miles were flat month over month but up 4 year over year, while average age increased 4 percent from November and were 7 percent older compared to December of 2020.
Near-term channel results were wildly disparate, Tam adds, with auction sales more than doubling month over month, while wholesale activity was lower. The auction and wholesale markets also experienced lower volumes compared to the prior December.
"Cumulatively for the year, auction and wholesale activity was also smaller in 2021 relative to 2020, with auction sales coming in 36 percent lower and wholesale deals lagging by 31 percent," he says.
Looking ahead, Tam says ACT is expecting the U.S. will make some progress on the supply-chain front, leading to continued freight growth, "albeit at a lower rate than we saw in 2021."
“As a result, our new Class 8 truck sales forecast expects to see U.S. sales improve," he adds. "By extension, used truck sales volumes should also improve, with used truck prices starting on a sequential decline path, but remaining higher year-over-year through most, if not all, of the first half of 2022. Key to this projection is the rate at which freight hauling capacity rebalances.”
