Used Class 8 truck sales improved 4% month-over-month in January, but sales were down 1% year-over-year compared to January 2019, according to ACT Research. The same trend held true for average prices – up from the previous month but down from 2019.

The average price started 2020 up 7% month-over-month, with average miles dropping 4% sequentially and average age down 2% compared to the last month of 2019. Longer term, average price, miles, and age were all below January 2019, shedding 11%, 1%, and 4%, respectively.

“Dealers are reporting that there are more used trucks available and prices are well below late 2018 and early 2019 levels, which has scared many people in trucking,” said Steve Tam, vice president at ACT Research. “Many dealers wrote down the values of their used trucks in late 2019 and early 2020, taking losses in late 2019 to properly position dealers for 2020.

"The bad news is some large losses had to be taken; the good news is there are some used truck bargains available for savvy buyers," Tam said. "Some truckers and dealers are in for rocky times if they have not adjusted their expectations for values on their trades and truck inventory.”

The information was in the latest release of ACT's State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3-8 Used Trucks.