Class 8 Retail Pricing Dips Below 2018 Level
The average sleeper tractor retailed in August 2023 was 71 months old, had 448,552 miles and brought $64,566. Compared with July 2023, this average sleeper was three months newer, had 16,009 (3.4%) more miles and brought $2,074 (3.1%) less money. Compared with August 2022, this average sleeper was three months older, had 6,097 (1.4%) more miles and brought $43,925 (59.5%) less money.
August’s average pricing for two- to six-year-old trucks was as follows:
- Model year 2022: $124,534; $7,312 (5.5%) lower than July
- Model year 2021: $87,971; $6,621 (7.0%) lower than July
- Model year 2020: $72,606; $6,432 (8.1%) lower than July
- Model year 2019: $57,700; $3,277 (5.4%) lower than July
- Model year 2018: $47,922; $533 (1.1%) higher than July
As in the auction channel, more low-spec, high-mileage sleeper tractors are moving through retail outlets, frequently as package deals. This activity negatively impacts the averages above.
Otherwise, three- to five-year-old trucks brought an average of 7.0% less money than July, and 37.0% less than August 2022. The first eight months of 2023 averaged 31.2% less money than the same period of 2022. Monthly depreciation in 2023 is currently averaging 3.8%. Late-model sleepers are now roughly at parity with the last strong pre-pandemic period of 2018 in nominal dollars, or about 20% less when adjusted for inflation.
Daycabs continue to hold their value substantially better than aerodynamic sleepers in 2023, losing an average of 3.1% per month in 2023 to date. As in the sleeper segment, a larger volume of lower-spec trucks is cycling through the market, negatively impacting the averages.
