United States Used Trucks

The Used Market Is Fragmented, Volatile, and Difficult to Interpret

1. Auction, retail, and wholesale channels behave differently.

Without channel clarity, organizations misread demand signals and misprice inventory.

2. Market performance varies significantly by class (3–5, 6–7, and 8).

Class 8 cycles are driven by freight, carrier profitability, and new truck builds.
Light- and medium-duty cycles are tied to last-mile, regional delivery, construction, and local vocational markets.

3. Vehicle age and mileage distort pricing — and not all models behave the same.

Stakeholders need normalized, comparative views to make sense of the volatility.

4. Inventory and turnover vary widely by class and region.

Planning from a single region or channel gives an incomplete picture of market health.

5. Registration data lags the market and adds another delayed indicator.

While valuable for tracking true unit placement, registration data often posts weeks to months after market activity — making it a lagging signal relative to real-time dealer-reported volumes and pricing.

ACT’s report solves this by providing timely, OEM-neutral, dealer-reported metrics on price, sales, and inventory changes across channels and classes.

ACT’s Monthly Used Truck Market

The State of the Industry: U.S. Classes 3–8 Used Trucks report gives you the objective and current view needed to price inventory, monitor demand, anticipate market turns, and make confident decisions.

WHAT’S INCLUDED — A 360° VIEW OF THE USED TRUCK MARKET

✔ Summary Observations — Clear, Monthly Market Interpretation

Each report begins with a concise narrative explaining:

• Volume shifts

• Price behavior

• Mileage and age changes

• Export trends

• Market drivers and risks

✔ Used Truck Management Statistics

Breakdowns by class, channel, and time period, including:

• Units sold

• Total sales $

• Average price

• Average miles

• Average age

• Inventory

• Turnover & days on hand

Tables include:

• Current month

• Year-to-date

• Month-over-month comparisons

• Same month year-over-year

• 3-month vs. prior-year 3-month

• Annualized comparisons

✔ Class 8 Selling Price Intelligence

ACT tracks the most important segment in used equipment: Class 8 tractors, with:

• Overall average selling price

• 3–7 year-old price bands

• Age/mileage interaction

• 10-year historical trend charts

• Y/Y %, monthly changes, and 6MMA patterns

These charts capture cycle shifts early and reveal true wholesale and retail pricing momentum.

✔ Class 3–5, 6–7, and Class 8 Market Graphs

For each class group, ACT provides:

• Sales volumes

• Average sale price

• Average miles

• Average age

These graphs clarify how light-duty, medium-duty, and heavy-duty markets behave differently over time.

✔ Class 8 Model-Specific Pricing

OEM-level average selling price trends for top models such as:

• Freightliner Cascadia & Columbia

• International LT & RH

• Kenworth T680 & T800

• Peterbilt 389 & 579

• Volvo 760 & 860

These charts reveal model-level demand, resale strength, and lifecycle behavior — essential for dealers, leasing companies, finance groups, and remarketers.

✔ Regional Dashboards — Price & Volume Heatmaps

ACT’s color-coded dashboards show:

• State-by-state price changes

• State-by-state volume shifts

These help identify where pricing is under pressure, where sales are rising, and where inventory may be tight or oversupplied.

WHAT YOU RECEIVE EACH MONTH

• Summary observations & cycle interpretation

• Class-by-class management statistics

• Complete channel (auction/retail/wholesale) breakdowns

• Time-period comparisons (MoM, YoY, 3-month, YTD)

• Class 8 pricing by model year

• 3–5, 6–7, and 8 graphs (volume, price, miles, age)

• OEM model-specific ASP charts

• Regional dashboards and heatmaps

• Inventory, turnover, and days-on-hand insights

Everything needed to understand market health, pricing momentum, and cycle direction.

WHY ACT: INDEPENDENCE, ACCURACY, AND INDUSTRY TRUST

Independent, Unbiased Data

ACT is a neutral third party with no OEM, dealer, or political bias — providing credibility across internal teams and external stakeholders.

Most Complete Dataset in the Industry

No other source combines class coverage, channel coverage, age/mileage detail, model-level pricing, and geographic dashboards in one report.

Recognized Industry Authority

ACT contributes to the Blue Chip Economic Indicators and the Wall Street Journal Economic Forecast Panel — a mark of deep analytical credibility.

WHO USES THIS REPORT — AND WHY

OEMs

Track resale strength, residual values, and trade-cycle implications.

Dealers & Remarketers

Price inventory, time acquisitions, and manage lot turnover.

Fleets & Leasing Companies

Optimize replacement timing, remarketing strategy, and lifecycle cost models.

Suppliers & Component Manufacturers

Monitor demand indicators that foreshadow new truck build trends.

Financial & Lending Institutions

Evaluate asset values, collateral risk, and pricing momentum.

Logistics & Transportation Leaders

Understand the health of capacity providers through used market behavior.