US Used Truck Retail Sales Prices Continue To Climb

Used Class 8 retail volumes (same dealer sales) grew 20% month-over-month, but were 14% lower compared to February of 2021

Preliminary used Class 8 retail volumes (same dealer sales) grew 20% month-over-month, but were 14% lower compared to February of 2021, according to the latest preliminary release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks published by ACT Research.

Other data released in ACT’s preliminary report included month-over-month comparisons for February 2022, which showed that the average retail price rose 8%, as average miles were flat and average age rose 1% compared to January. Compared to February of 2021, the average retail price was 85% higher, with average miles and age greater by 3% and 7%, respectively.

According to Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research, “Presumably, the bumps in December and January new truck production freed the logjam of trucks headed to the used truck market. As evidence, preliminary same dealer retail sales popped in February, more than the expected seasonal gain.” He elaborated, “More importantly, it is obvious that demand for used equipment remains robust. Regardless, inventory is still in short supply, so longer-term comparisons continue to be unfavorable.”

Tam continued, “The preliminary average retail selling price for Class 8 trucks has yet to show any signs of retreat, climbing 8% month-over-month in February. Near-term growth continues to be overshadowed by longer-term comparisons, where prices were up 85% year-over-year and 85% year-to-date.” He concluded, “It is also worth noting that the higher prices are shrugging off the fact that, collectively, used trucks are older and have more miles on them for just about every time period comparison. The presumption is that fleets have been forced to hold onto their trucks longer than normal as they await delivery of the supply-chain constraint delayed new units.”

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