Class 8 used trucks

ACT Research data shows used truck sales and prices rebounded at the end of 2025.

On Wednesday the American Transportation Research Institute (ATRI) released a report that examined causes and impacts of predatory heavy-duty towing. The report defined predatory towing in which “a T&R [towing and recovery] company egregiously overcharges, illegally seizes assets, damages assets by use of improper equipment, or illegitimately withholds release of a truck, trailer, and/or cargo.”

Class 8 truck orders crossed a seasonally adjusted 20,000 units in August for the fourth consecutive month.

Experts expected a closing of the gap between record-high auction and retail used truck prices. Now both are in retreat.

Sought-after used trucks nearly double in year-over-year price, according to J.D. Power Valuation Services.

Higher prices for used trucks are expected to last into 2022 and when they fall, it will be from a lofty place.

PACCAR puts up strong Q1 numbers, including record parts sales that suggest the new truck backlog is boosting aftermarket sales.

The growing backlog of new truck orders has supercharged pricing for newer used models at auctions, with retail traffic also high.

New Class 8 truck orders are piling up, leading fleets to turn to used equipment to add capacity in a consumer-driven freight market.

Prices for used Class 8 tractors should maintain the momentum from the last half of 2020, but the nation’s unemployment rate could affect that, according to J.D. Power Valuation Services.

The trend of improving used truck sales stalled in October. But year-over-year price gains are holding up. Added capacity could be a problem if pandemic shutdowns slow freight demand.

Increased freight volume and higher carrier profits always drive Class 8 truck demand. The circumstances in 2020 differ from 2018’s tax cut-driven boom, but reasons for the surge are identical.

Pulled along by improving orders for new Class 8 trucks, demand for late-model heavy-duty used trucks continues to swell.

Prices are firming and demand is rising for used trucks after more than a year of doldrums mirroring a slowdown in new truck orders.

The recovery in freight pricing led to a five-year high in certain used truck auction volumes in June as crowds of identical used sleeper trucks pushed some prices lower.

It’s a bargain hunter’s market for used trucks, especially sleeper cabs, as prices come off the floor but demand for one-owner equipment remained slack in May.

The numbers game is intensifying as falling used truck prices and swelling inventories persuade fleets to hang on to younger equipment until they can break even.

April’s coronavirus impact intensified pricing pressure in an already depressed used truck market where most cash-conserving buyers held back on purchases.

With benchmark prices down 26% year over year, analysts pin hopes for a used truck sales recovery to the restart of the economy. March was a tale of contrasts with decent sales early in the month that plummeted later as too many trucks sought too few loads.

Before the coronavirus became a pandemic, used truck sales posted their best performance in two years as low prices and seasonality combined to boost an otherwise slow market for older equipment.