“Auction sales, uncharacteristically strong in October, bucked their typical first month of the quarter drop to expand by 19% month over month. Wholesale transactions expanded, gaining 10% month over month,” says Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research.
The market wasn’t quite as strong in the retail space, up just 0.3%. Tam says historically that number would have been a bit higher. Overall, the company market was up 9.5% in October.
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“The [retail] market fell short of historical seasonality, which called for a 2.8% month-over-month increase,” Tam says.
Tam notes retail price stumbled a bit too, with the preliminary average retail price (same dealer sales) of used Class 8 trucks softening for the third consecutive month, shedding 3.5% month over month to $54,160.
“October’s decay was contrary to seasonal expectations, which called for a 1.8% bump,” Tam says.
