Used Class 8 Sales Up 55% in August

Sept. 29, 2010
Reported sales of used Class 8 commercial vehicles were up 55 percent in August compared to the prior year on a “same dealer” basis, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT).

Reported sales of used Class 8 commercial vehicles were up 55 percent in August compared to the prior year on a “same dealer” basis, according to ACT Research Co. (ACT). In the latest release of the State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks, ACT also reported that the average price paid for a used Class 8 truck continued to move slightly higher.

“While unit sales are up year-over-year, recent months have seen flat to slightly downward sales volume as dealers have voiced concerns over a shortage of late-model inventory,” said Steve Tam, vice president-commercial vehicle sector with ACT. “As in most cases when supply tightens, prices go up. In August, the average price of a used Class 8 vehicle sold in a retail setting (excludes auctions and wholesale transactions) broke the $40,000 barrier for the first time since February of 2009.”

ACT Used Truck database participants report approximately 2,500 transactions per month. The company is working with used vehicle market participants to push the number of reported transactions significantly higher. ACT estimates that approximately 10 percent of used Class 8 transactions are included in the database.