Inventory shortage hurts used truck market

Aug. 29, 2011

According to the latest research from ACT Research Co., the Class 3-8 used truck market tumbled 10% in July, reversing the market gain posted during June. Lack of inventory continues to be a challenge for the industry, with particular pressure occurring in the late model/low mileage market segment.

Examined on a year-to-date basis, the used market is 4% behind the year-ago pace. The update on the used market was reported in the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, published by ACT Research.

“We expect both age and mileage of used trucks to continue to grow throughout the rest of 2011,” says Steve Tam, vice president-commercial vehicle sector with ACT. “Despite those trends, tight supply will result in used truck prices drifting further upward. While improving new truck sales will generate more trade-ins, providing some relief to used market pressures, we expect this will only act to soften growth in prices, not reverse it.”

The report from ACT provides data on the average used price for the top-selling Class 8 model for each of the major truck OEM’s – Freightliner (Daimler); Kenworth and Peterbilt (Paccar); International (Navistar); and Volvo and Mack (Volvo). For more information visit http://www.actresearch.net.