ACT Research: 245,000 Total Used Class 8 Truck Sales for 2022

ACT Research Co.
4 min readJan 26, 2023

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According to the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3–8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research, used Class 8 retail volumes (same dealer sales) increased 16% m/m in December. Average mileage was down 4% m/m, with average price and age down 2% and 3%, respectively. Longer term, average price and miles were lower, with age flat y/y.

ACT’s Used Class 8 Retail Summary — December (F) 2022

The report from ACT provides data on the average selling price, miles, and age based on a sample of industry data. In addition, the report provides the average selling price for top-selling Class 8 models for each of the major truck OEMs — Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo). This report is utilized by those throughout the industry, including commercial vehicle dealers, to gain a better understanding of the used truck market, especially as it relates to changes in near-term performance.

“Activity typically sees a moderate increase in December, so the increase was directionally consistent with expectations,” said Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. He continued, “We ascribe the relative strength to the elevated new truck sales in November and December, which helped to sate pent-up demand in the inventory-starved used truck market. While the economy and freight markets are slowing, effectively cooling used truck demand, there are many used truck buyers who have been forced to hold onto their trucks beyond their expiration dates.”

Tam concluded, “Used Class 8 retail truck sales for December were still meaningfully weaker for longer-term comparisons, falling 30% y/y and 35% for all of 2022 compared to full year 2021. We estimate the total Class 8 used truck market sales for 2022 were 245,000 units, down from 265,000 (-7.5%) in 2021.”

ACT Research State of the Industry: U.S. Used Truck Classes 3–8

ACT Research is recognized as the leading publisher of commercial vehicle truck, trailer, and bus industry data, market analysis and forecasts for the North America and China markets. ACT’s analytical services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as banking and investment companies. ACT Research is a contributor to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and a member of the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel. ACT Research executives have received peer recognition, including election to the Board of Directors of the National Association for Business Economics, appointment as Consulting Economist to the National Private Truck Council, and the Lawrence R. Klein Award for Blue Chip Economic Indicators’ Most Accurate Economic Forecast over a four-year period. ACT Research senior staff members have earned accolades including Chicago Federal Reserve Automotive Outlook Symposium Best Overall Forecast, Wall Street Journal Top Economic Outlook, and USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters. More information can be found at www.actresearch.net.

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Click below to access:

More information about ACT’s Used Truck reports.

Information about other ACT Research products and services.

January’s State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3–8 Used Trucks Preliminary press release.

December’s State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3–8 Used Trucks press release.

ACT’s In the News page.

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ACT Research Co.

ACT Research is the leader in commercial vehicle industry data, market analysis, and forecasting services for North America.