June used truck sales grew 8% over May, but lagged June 2011 and the first six months of 2011, while pricing appears to be slowing a little more rapidly than was previously expected. 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.

“While June’s sales appear positive at face value, concerns are now surfacing, especially relative to the amount of inventory on hand and the prices at which those units were acquired,” reported Steve Tam, Vice President-Commercial Vehicle Sector with ACT. Concerning pricing, he added, “The slowdown is not necessarily permanent, nor irreversible, but is a reflection of current economic conditions. Flat demand for more units started the ball rolling. Higher prices have led to changes in financing, which are making transactions more expensive and preventing some potential buyers from making purchases. The solution lies in increased economic activity, which is expected, but at a measured pace.”

 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).

ACT is the worldwide leading publisher of new and used commercial vehicle (CV) industry data, market analysis and forecasting services for the North American market, as well as the U.S. tractor-trailer market and the China CV market. ACT’s CV services are used by all major North American truck and trailer manufacturers and their suppliers, as well as the banking and investment community.