Auction Market Cooled for High-Mileage Trucks in March

Auction volume increased in March, which is typically the case. Trucks with average to low mileage continue to bring extremely high hammer prices, while high-mileage trucks appear to be returning to more typical depreciation patterns. The negative month-over-month comparisons below are due mainly to lower pricing for those higher-mileage trucks included in our averages.

Looking at two- to six-year-old trucks, March’s average pricing for our benchmark was as follows:

• Model year 2021: No trucks sold in March
• Model year 2020: $159,500; $3,804 (2.4%) higher than February
• Model year 2019: $95,309; $8,705 (8.4%) lower than February
• Model year 2018: $73,984; $11,361 (13.3%) lower than February
• Model year 2017: $60,792; $8,225 (11.9%) lower than February

In March, three- to five-year-old trucks averaged 0.1% less money than February, and 72.9% more money than March 2021. Late-model trucks sold in the first quarter of 2022 averaged 99.0% more money than the same period of 2021.

Freight rates and volumes have been pulling back since February. It may be too early to link this negative freight data to used truck selling prices, but we've been saying all along that record-breaking, once-in-a-lifetime used truck pricing is not the permanent new normal. Keep a very close eye on pricing for higher-mileage trucks.