The used truck market in the first half of this year has started to cool off from the white hot levels seen dating back to early 2021, when prices set their sights on six figures for models that were upwards of four years old.
Carriers that took on used trucks in 2020 at the height of the pandemic could have disposed of those same assets two years later for a rate of return that might have outpaced every financial index on the planet, and was on par with the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Three- to five-year-old trucks retailed for an average of 1.7% less money in May than April, according to J.D. Power, but this age group brought 82.6% more money in the first five months of 2022 than the same period 2021. Year-to-date, late-model sleepers have increased an average of 1.7% per month in value.
CCJ recently obtained and analyzed truck retail figures from Price Digests, a company owned by CCJ parent Randall Reilly, to determine depreciation rates from when the truck would have been bought new, and how much that same model has grown in value from June 1, 2020, to June 1, 2022. For each model, Price Digests pulled what would be considered a common fleet spec with minimum factory options.
A 2018 Mack Pinnacle axle-back configuration originally retailed for $177,000 but could be had on the used market for just less than $76,000 two years later. By 2022, that some truck fetched just less than $100,000 retail.
A brand new 2018 International LT could be had for about $136,000 and, on the used lot just two model years later, found for less than $85,000. As of June 2022, that same truck cost more than $104,000.
Fleets in the market for a new Freightliner Cascadia in 2018 could get one for about $176,000. By June 2020 that model was retailing used at a discount of more than $100,000 – $74,000. However, as of June 2022 that same 2018 model year Cascadia is commanding $101,000.
