From Trucks, Parts and Service staff

ACT Research says the dip it found in same dealer used Class 8 retail truck sales isn’t yet cause for concern.

“The 3.3% month over month decline was directionally consistent with, but not as quite as strong as, the expected 11% seasonal drop,” says Steve Tam, vice president. “The auction and wholesale markets were mixed in April. Auction volumes sank 52% month over month, as is normally the case for the first month of the quarter. Wholesale dealer activity edged 6.1% higher month over month. Combined, April’s total market same dealer sales volumes were 23% lower month over month.”

Prices, however, went up. Tam says the Class 8 average retail sale price was up 4.2% month over month in April, rising to $59,122. Prices were 1.9% higher year over year.

TPS sister brand Price Digests also shows a slight uptick in truck prices recently, particularly among newer models, with two-year-old trucks averaging $95,290. Five-year-old models averaged $53,380 on the month and 10-year-old models were down to $25,410.