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 same dealer sales volumes were up 13% year to date against the first seven months of 2019, with average price, miles and age all below July 2019 year-to-date rates and down 15%, 1%, and 8%, respectively. Near term, the report also indicated that used Class 8 sales volumes rose, up 15% sequentially, with average price unchanged month over month, and average miles and age virtually flat (down 1% each) compared with June.

“July’s strong sales can, in part, likely be attributed to the weakness in late spring sales, driven by stay-at-home orders,” Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research, said. “That said, the remainder of the year continues to be overshadowed by uncertainty as businesses evolve to new sales models and small truckers enter and leave the market.

“Regardless of July’s volumes, used truck sales are spotty, with some dealers and sales reps very busy, while others are experiencing very slow sales. Another part of July’s success may be attributed to new or first-time buyers entering the market, attracted by near-record spot freight rates, with some customers who might otherwise have purchased a new truck turning to the late model, low mileage used trucks instead, after new truck production was halted in the spring to mitigate the spread of COVID-19.”

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).