February preliminary Class 8 same dealer used truck retail sales volumes built on January’s strength, adding 12% m/m, according to the latest preliminary release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks published by ACT Research.

“The market easily outperformed historical seasonality, which called for an increase of 6% m/m,” according to Steve Tam, Vice President at ACT Research. “Gains in preliminary auction activity were muted, up 2.2% from January. Moving in the opposite direction, wholesale transactions contracted 4.9% y/y. Altogether, February preliminary sales strengthened 7.9% m/m.

“The gain is a testament to the stalwart nature of truckers, but also somewhat counterintuitive considering all the economic and political uncertainty they are currently facing,” Tam concluded.

ACT’s Classes 3-8 Used Truck report 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). This report is utilized by those throughout the industry, including commercial vehicle dealers to gain a better understanding of the used truck market, especially as it relates to changes in near-term performance.