ACT Research: Preliminary Used Truck Same Dealer Retail Sales Ballooned 23% M/M in March
Preliminary Class 8 same dealer used truck retail sales volume managed a sizable gain, ballooning 23% m/m in March. The improvement was directionally consistent with, but smaller in comparison to, the 93% pop in auctions sales and a 34% bump in wholesale transactions. Combined, the used truck industry saw preliminary same dealer sales increase 53% m/m, according to the latest preliminary release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3–8 Used Trucks published by ACT Research.
According to Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research, “Historically, March is one of the best months for sales, but not as strong as indicated by preliminary data.” He continued, “Regardless, buyers are taking advantage of improved inventory and lower prices to refresh their fleets with younger, lower mileage units.”
He added, “The preliminary average retail price (same dealer sales) of used Class 8 trucks sold in March gained 4% m/m, to $74,500, or 26% below where it was in March 2022. The unexpected gain is somewhat the result of younger, lower mileage trucks making their way into the market as the logjam on new truck purchases and subsequent trades continued to break up.”
Tam concluded, “Fleets have been forced to hold onto their trucks longer because of supply-chain constraints. Will there eventually be a large influx of meaningfully older, higher mileage trucks into the secondary market? And if so, what will happen to pricing? While no one knows for sure, we do expect an uptick, but not a flood, of this vintage of equipment.”
ACT’s Classes 3–8 Used Truck report 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.
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.
