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 retail volumes (same dealer sales) were down 10 percent month-over-month in July. Average price and miles were down 1 percent and 0.4 percent, respectively, compared to July, with average age down as well 7 percent month over month. Longer term, average price was higher year over year and year to date, as were average miles and age, with price up 69 percent year to date in July, average miles 3 percent higher compared to the first seven months of 2021, and average age 6 percent older for the same time period.

“Same dealer retail sales of used Class 8 trucks took a nose-dive in July,” said Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. He continued, “Historically, used truck sales are typically flat from June to July, so it is a safe bet the decline is a reflection of softening freight, particularly in the spot market.”

Tam added, “Since the advent of the global pandemic, and now with the Ukraine war, seasonality has become less of a factor in explaining month-to-month variation in sales volumes. Rather, development in areas such as economics, freight and new truck production and sales are playing a much larger role when it comes to the used truck market.”

He concluded, “As the economy and freight begin to cool from their torrid pace over the past two years, it is logical and expected to see demand for commercial vehicles, both new and used, slow.”