Pricing slipped in the used truck market in August as volume rose in the auction and retail channels, J.D. Power announced late last week in its September Commercial Truck Guidelines report.
Depreciation picking up with volumes in auction space
Within the auction market, J.D. Power says average auction pricing for its benchmark truck In August was:
- Model year (MY) 2023: $71,527; $11,798 (14.2%) lower than July
- MY 2022: $51,123; $5,754 (12.7%) higher than July
- MY 2021: $35,593; $6,610 (15.7%) lower than July
- MY 2020: $29,970; $4,757 (13.7%) lower than July
- MY 2019: $25,908; $1,782 (7.4%) higher than July
At auctions in August, selling prices for the 4- to 6-year-old cohort of J.D. Power’s benchmark truck averaged 4.6% lower than July 2025, and 0.4% lower than August 2024. J.D. Power says pricing for that group is currently 4.5% higher than the strong pre-pandemic period of 2018 in nominal figures (19.3% lower if adjusted for inflation), and 56.4% higher than the last market nadir in late 2019 (24.4% higher when adjusted for inflation).
Additionally, J.D. Power notes deprecation for this group accelerated once again and is now averaging 2.1% per month.
As usual, J.D. Power adds the limited volume of trucks sold each month results in swings in the raw data averages that are not necessarily reflective of actual market movement.
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Retail customers becoming ‘more selective’
The retail market moved similarly, with prices declining for the second straight month amid mostly consistent volume that appears to be stabilizing.
Looking at the overall mix of trucks retailed in August, J.D. Power’s dataset of sold sleeper tractors averaged 56 months old and 431,028 miles. Compared with July, this group was two months older and had 1,231 (0.3%) fewer miles. Compared with August 2025, this dataset averaged eight months newer and 325 (0.1%) fewer miles.
“The retail customer continues to become more selective in terms of age and mileage of trucks they’re willing to accept,” the company says.
J.D. Power says in its model, August’s average pricing for late-model trucks was:
- MY 2024: $119,417; $1,809 (1.5%) lower than July
- MY 2023: $96,674; $3,742 (3.7%) lower than July
- MY 2022: $73,947; $3,106 (4.0%) lower than July
- MY 2021: $55,442; $5,386 (8.9%) lower than July
- MY 2020: $44,379; $1,657 (8.9%) higher than July
Sleeper tractors aged 3- to 5-years sold for 5.1% less than in July 2025, but 11.0% more than in August 2024. Following a positive first half of 2025, J.D. Power adds selling prices have been negative for the first two months of the second half.
[RELATED: Retail sales volumes jumped forward in August]
Late-model sleepers are now bringing 2.5% more money than the last strong pre-pandemic period of early 2019 in nominal dollars, or 20.0% less when adjusted for inflation. J.D. Power states compared with the last weak pre-pandemic period of late 2019, late-model sleeper values are running 33.0% higher in nominal dollars or 5.5% higher in real dollars. Fortunately, despite August’s month-over-month dip, depreciation in 2025 to date is still averaging well under 1% per month, the company adds.
Retail sales per rooftop also matched July’s 3.4 trucks sold. Pricing appears to be cooling, but volume is improving. The total number of retail sales reported in August was 4.2% lower than July, and 2.4% higher than August 2024, the company reports.
Forecast subdued into 2026
In its market analysis, J.D. Power states, “Looking forward, most analysts predict a subdued holiday shipping season and continued offloading of excess trucks in service. The market is absorbing this unneeded capacity without extreme depreciation.
“Conditions are not predicted to change appreciably until the second half of 2026, as the number of trucks in service becomes more proportional to the volume of freight available. Throughout this period, low-mileage used trucks will remain in demand as a cost-effective alternative to increasingly expensive new models.”
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