The March Rouse Value Index™ for used equipment prices decreased to 43.4, down 0.5% from February values. The decrease is now the eleventh consecutive month of declines, primarily driven by weaker recoveries observed in auction transactions. While there has been softness throughout much of 2015 and into 2016, the March 2016 Rouse Value Index™ remains slightly higher than the prior peak period of 43.3 in April 2007 and 46.1% higher than the prior trough period of 29.7 in June 2009. The Rouse Value Index™ measures the average Orderly Liquidation Values for benchmark models across fourteen major rental category indices on a monthly basis.
March auction sales of rental and construction equipment tracked by Rouse averaged 3.5% lower than Rouse February FLV values. In the month of March, Rouse recorded approximately 7,850 units that sold at over 50 separate auction sales conducted across North America. The units represented a combined FLV (as of February 29th) of $180.4 million and generated $174.1 million of gross auction proceeds. Rouse did not observe a meaningful recovery difference between categories of equipment prevalent in general rental fleets (e.g., small and mid-sized earth moving and aerial equipment) as compared to heavier equipment categories (e.g., large earth moving and mining equipment).
Read the full April 2016 Rouse Rental Report.