INDIANAPOLIS. The price premium for used Class 8 trucks, while moderating, is expected to remain at a high level even though the average age and mileage of available used models in inventory is expected to keep increasing, according to Steve Clough, president of Arrow Truck Sales.
As part of a presentation at FTR’s annual Transportation Conference, Clough said the percentage of three-year old used trucks now being sold dropped to 11% this year, compared to 28% in 2006. By contrast, the number of 6 to 7 year old trucks being sold in the used market jumped to 45% in 2013, up from 28% in 2006, he noted.
The average mileage of used models is also on the rise, Clough added, climbing to 537,000 miles on the odometer this year from 479,000 in 2006.
Yet the value of such older, higher-mileage equipment is up significantly, he stressed. Pointing to NADA pricing data, a 4-year old highway tractor spec’d with a fuel efficient “aero” package and 500,000 miles on the odometer commanded $64,625 in December last year; a number expected to slip only slightly to 61,100 by December this year. By contrast, that same style of truck went for just $31,056 in December 2009, Clough noted.
“That of course is good for the new truck buyer, as a higher residual value means a higher trade-in value and thus a lower net cost to buy a new vehicle,” he explained. “But for the used truck buyer, that translates into higher acquisition costs, a higher down payment, a higher monthly payment, and higher maintenance cost since used trucks on the market today feature emission control systems of some sort.”
