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J.D. Power: Used Truck Prices Drop in February
J.D. Power & Associates, in its assessment of February’s used truck market numbers, reports that the anticipated greater volume of late-model trucks has impacted pricing, causing some dealers to sell multiple-unit packages at “aggressive” retail prices.
According to J.D. Power, the average used sleeper tractor retailed in February was 74 months old with 458,975 miles on it. On average, it brought $48,579. Compared to January numbers, these trucks were identical in age, had an average of 278 more miles on the odometer, and brought in $2,675 less.
When compared to used retail figures from February of last year, the average sleeper was 2 months older, had 8,989 more miles, and brought in $1,230 more.
Overall, according to the J.D. Power report, average pricing for trucks three to five years old in February was as follows:
- Model year 2016 trucks sold for an average of $75,893, which was $14,752 (16.3%) lower than in January.
- Model year 2015 trucks sold for an average of $63,419, which was $3,184 (4.8%) less than in January.
- Model year 2014 trucks sold for an average of $47,992, which was $7,573 (13.6% lower) than in January.
Additionally, the report noted that International ProStar sleeper tractors have now “edged much closer” to average used truck values. The analysts attributed this trend to greater numbers of new ProStars leaving dealer lots as well as “better relative performance” of Navistar N13 diesel engines compared to the earlier reliability-troubled MaxxForce models.
J.D. Power analysts noted that new truck orders for the first three months of 2018 have been historically high, which means that over the long term, 2018 should see an elevated volume of deliveries.
Additionally, the report noted, fleets appear to be taking advantage of tax breaks and incentives and generally appear to be optimistic about economic conditions this year. It also appears that prospective buyers are looking to lock in guaranteed residuals before depreciation further devalues trade-ins later this year.
Medium-Duty Truck Pricing Slides
As with heavy-duty trucks, used medium-duty truck values fell in February, too. According to J.D. Power, Class 3-4 cabovers sold for an average of $14,194 in February. This figure is $4,878 (25.1%) less than in January and $7,535 (34.1%) less than in February 2017.
J.D. Power analysts noted that volume was “moderately” higher than in January, but that there were still no obvious factors explaining the fall in prices.
Class 4 and Class 6 trucks both sold in much greater numbers in February than in January, J.D. Power found. And both market segments returned noticeably lower pricing, with Class 6 units depreciating enough to lose ground to Class 4 models.
Specifically, Class 4 models averaged $20,290 in February, which is $3,234 (13.7%) lower than in January and $4,148 (17.1%) lower than in the same month last year.
The analysts said the falloff in Class 6 pricing was likely due to much higher volumes, and noted that this market segment is particularly sensitive to rental fleets liquidating equipment – which appears to have been the case in February.