According to the latest market trends report from Ritchie Bros., U.S. truck tractor pricing was up 15% year over year for the three months ending Feb. 28, 2021, while pricing for vocational trucks, lifting and material handling, and heavy equipment was up 10%, 9% and 5%, respectively, compared with the same time period last year.

“When millions of businesses shifted to remote working, people started to shop more online, resulting in an uptick in shipments and a direct impact on the transportation industry,” Doug Olive, senior vice president of pricing at Ritchie Bros., said. “In 2020, Ritchie Bros. sold 18% more truck tractors than 2019 and median quarterly pricing was up in Q2 through Q4, with no signs of slowing demand. In fact, in December 2020, watchlists for truck tractors in upcoming events was three times that of December 2019. Ritchie Bros. also saw record volume and pricing for flatbed trucks, van trucks and van trailers — all of which are tied to the ‘last mile transport’ trend, which grew exponentially last year.

“We also saw a significant rise in residential real estate construction in 2020 as remote workers looked to move away from city centers and/or decided to focus on home improvements while in isolation. Not surprisingly, this has resulted in solid to strong pricing for all different types of earthmoving equipment, including multi-terrain loaders, which saw more volume and better pricing than 2019, as well as excavators and dozers, both of which saw slightly fewer units year over year but with much stronger pricing.”