Mid-Year Market Shift Underway in the Class 8 Retail Channel

Retail volume was way up in June. Depreciation accelerated moderately as a result.

The average sleeper tractor retailed in June was 68 months old, had 478,296 miles, and brought $36,973. Compared to May, this average sleeper was 1 month older, had 16,058 (3.5%) more miles, and brought $3,233 (8.0%) less money. Compared to June 2019, this average sleeper was 1 month newer, had 17,354 (3.8%) more miles, and brought $20,251 (35.4%) less money.

Looking at trucks two to five years of age, June’s average pricing was as follows:

• Model year 2019: $94,127; $4,409 (4.5%) lower than May
• Model year 2018: $69,808; $15,219 (17.9%) lower than May
• Model year 2017: $54,013; $2,338 (4.5%) higher than May
• Model year 2016: $37,601; $1,498 (3.8%) lower than May

Month-over-month, late-model trucks brought 8.5% less money. In the first six months of 2020, pricing averaged 15.1% lower than the same period of 2019. Depreciation in 2020 is averaging 3.1% per month, an increase from last month, and moderately above the historic range. Late-model sleepers that have accumulated less than 100,000 miles per year are bringing relatively strong money, especially those with under 300K. The gap between high-volume models and lower-volume models is increasing. Our subscription services provide much more detail on this topic.

Dealers retailed an average of 4.5 trucks per rooftop in June, 0.6 truck higher than May, and 0.7 truck higher than last June. This month’s result is the highest since last August. This increase is encouraging, and indicates somewhat better demand commensurate with the economic re-opening.

Stay tuned for our complete July Guidelines market update later this week.